bet-at-home.com AG reported a 16.1% drop in first-quarter gross betting and gaming revenue to EUR 11.34m, as the Austrian betting tax hike continued to compress the operator’s online sports betting business.
The Frankfurt-listed group, which focuses on Germany and Austria, posted gross betting and gaming revenue of EUR 11,341 thousand in Q1 2026, down from EUR 13,522 thousand in the same period a year earlier. Total betting and gaming volume fell sharply to EUR 82.3m from EUR 103.2m, a decline of just over 20%.
The fall in topline activity pushed the group into a loss. EBITDA came in at EUR -320 thousand, against EUR 1.17m a year earlier. EBITDA before special items, the group’s main alternative performance indicator, swung to EUR -149 thousand from EUR 1.60m. Consolidated net result for the period was a loss of EUR 461 thousand, compared with a profit of EUR 887 thousand in Q1 2025.
Austrian tax hike drives sports betting decline
The driver of the revenue drop is well flagged. Austria raised its betting tax from 2% to 5% of stakes effective 1 April 2025, and bet-at-home passed the increase on to customers from June 2025. The Q1 2025 comparable did not yet reflect that cost pass-through, so the year-on-year comparison captures the full impact for the first time.
Sports betting gross revenue fell to EUR 9.63m from EUR 12.01m, a drop of 19.8%. Sports betting volumes fell more steeply, down 24.4% to EUR 67.86m. Management said the immediate pass-through of higher costs to customers reduced both revenues and overall customer activity.
The online gaming segment moved in the opposite direction. Gross revenue from the .de online casino business, which includes online slots, grew 13.1% year-on-year to EUR 1.71m, with stakes up to EUR 14.46m from EUR 13.42m. Net revenue from online gaming reached EUR 1.12m, up from EUR 943 thousand.
Cost base tightens
Operating expenses came in below year-ago levels across most lines. Marketing spend fell 7.4% to EUR 4.49m, with management framing the reduction as front-loaded restraint ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Other operating expenses dropped 20.88% to EUR 2.44m, reflecting lower spending on service providers and legal advisory work, alongside reduced foreign exchange losses. Personnel costs were broadly flat at EUR 2.09m.
The cost reductions limited but did not offset the revenue shortfall. The pattern echoes pressure across DACH markets where operators have repeatedly warned that tax-driven price increases push activity toward unlicensed channels.
Balance sheet position
bet-at-home’s balance sheet remains the standout feature of its financial profile. Cash and cash equivalents stood at EUR 26.68m at 31 March 2026, down modestly from EUR 27.89m at year-end 2025. Group equity reduced slightly to EUR 24.80m from EUR 25.26m, reflecting the quarterly loss. The equity ratio narrowed to 50.80% from 51.67%.
The company’s cash position remains larger than its current annual revenue guidance midpoint, leaving headroom for marketing investment around the FIFA World Cup without external financing.
World Cup and 2026 guidance
CEO Stefan Sulzbacher pointed to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July as a planned positive driver for the rest of the year, expecting higher customer activity and new registrations.
“Positive momentum from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the planned marketing measures continues to be offset by existing regulatory, legal, and competitive uncertainties,” Sulzbacher said in his report to shareholders.
The Management Board maintained its 2026 guidance ranges: gross betting and gaming revenue of EUR 46m to EUR 54m, and EBITDA before special items of EUR 0 to EUR 4m. The midpoint of EUR 50m would represent a continuation of the depressed run-rate seen in the first quarter rather than a recovery, with the upper end implying material improvement contingent on World Cup-driven activity.
The Q1 figures place bet-at-home toward the lower end of that path. The company would need to deliver gross revenue of roughly EUR 34.7m across Q2 to Q4 to reach the bottom of the guided range, and around EUR 42.7m to reach the top, against a Q1 print of EUR 11.34m. European tax pressure on listed operators has become a consistent theme through the reporting cycle.
Source: bet-at-home.com AG
