Switzerland’s Stadtcasino Baden Group, operator of Grand Casino Baden and co-owner of Casino Davos, has revealed that it generated revenue of CHF7.6m (£6.3m/€7.2m/$7.8m) through the launch of online gaming in 2019.The operator, which was the first to launch igaming in the country when Jackpots.ch went live in July last year, saw total revenue grow 16.2% year-on-year to CHF75.3m for the year.
This came predominantly from the land-based properties, with Grand Casino Baden contributing CHF65.6m to the full-year total. Casino Davos, which it co-owns with Belgium’s Ardent Group and the Davos Tourism Organisation, added revenue of CHF2.1m, up 14.6%.
Visitor numbers were up 3.7% for the Baden property, and 2.9% for Casino Davos.
Having been launched first in the market, and from July, Jackpots.ch revenue for 2019 amounted to CHF6.3m. Casino Davos’ igaming brand, Casino777.ch, which launched in September last year, added a further CHF1.3m.
Jackpots.ch is powered by Gamanza, the igaming platform provider in which the operator holds a 50% stake, while Casino777 uses a platform provided by Ardent Group’s B2B subsidiary Gaming1.
The operator contributed CHF36.3m of revenue to Switzerland’s national pension fund Alters- und Hinterlassenenversicherung (AHV), while start-up costs related to igaming resulted in its profit for 2019 declining to CHF3.6m, compared to CHF7.3m in the prior year.
As a result of Switzerland’s casinos being closed in March this year, as a result of novel coronavirus (Covid-19), the igaming operations are currently the only sources of revenue for the operator.
However, Stadtcasino Baden Group chief executive Detlef Brose said that strong performance in previous years put the business in a position to withstand the impact of the crisis. He said that while employees had been moved to short-term working, layoffs were not currently being considered, and all staff were still being paid in full.
The operator has already provided hygiene masks to two old peoples’ homes, as well as providing use of a parking garage to staff of a rehabilitation centre free of charge. It has also made a donation of CFH5,000, as well as food, to the cantonal hospital in Aargau, where Baden is based, and is supporting sports clubs through sponsorship agreements.
The operator is also supported by the igaming revenue, which Brose admitted was still relatively small considering the market had only recently gone live, and was still attracting players away from unlicensed sites.
“In the past few months we have expanded our range of games considerably, which has also had a positive impact on sales,” he said. “In this way, we can at least partially compensate for the lack of revenue from our traditional business.”
Furthermore, he added, its 50% stake in Gamanza would provide additional revenue as it signs up new clients, with negotiations underway with a number of potential partners.
However, Brose admitted that it was unclear how quickly the land-based business would recover once the venues were allowed to reopen.
“We had two excellent months at the beginning of the year and want to build on them after the crisis, as well as continuing to develop positively in online gaming,” he said.
mage: CasinoDavos.ch
