Better Collective revenue dip slows as recurring income stabilises
The Copenhagen-listed affiliate has reported a 4% year-on-year revenue decline to €78.3 million (£69.1 million/$91.0 million) in Q3 2025, as lower sports margins and continued disruption in Brazil offset growth in North America and paid media.
Recurring revenue stood at €50.0 million, representing 64% of total revenue, matching last quarter’s share but slipping 5% compared to the same quarter last year. EBITDA before special items came in at €21 million, representing a margin of 26%, down 8% year-on-year. Free cash flow in Q3 was €11 million, with a year-to-date total of €32 million. Operating costs fell 2% to €21 million, aligning broadly with Q3 2024.
Better Collective added 279,000 new depositing customers in Q3, 81% of whom were on revenue share deals. The company’s new value of deposits (VoD) metric, which measures cumulative deposits from referred users, hit €726 million for the quarter, a 2% increase from last year.
Speaking on the results, Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard said the quarter "continued the same trajectory” of H1, with performance in line with expectations despite “short-term fluctuations” that are a “natural part” of the industry. The group previously reported its revenue from the last quarter at €82 million, an 18% decline from Q2 2024.
Headwinds: sports margin and Brazil regulation
The CEO attributed the continued revenue dip to “an unusually low sports win margin due to player-friendly results in September”, noting that the month saw the lowest margin the affiliate had seen in over 20 years. This impacted the company’s quarterly revenue by roughly €10 million.
The ongoing regulatory transition had a negative influence of around €4 million during Q3, declining from the €8 million impact Better Collective experienced in Q2. The affiliate continues to anticipate a 50–70% decline in its Brazilian revenue share income, which it estimates could impact 2025 EBITDA by around €35–50 million. In addition, foreign exchange movements further shaved the group’s revenue by approximately €2 million.
Commenting on results in the Brazilian market, Søgaard highlighted the company’s “solid activity for existing revenue share due to better-than-expected migration”.
“However, competition between licensed sportsbooks remains limited, as the current regulatory framework unfortunately still directs a large share of players toward unlicensed companies,” he continued. “As I have stated before, a stable and competitive regulatory environment is essential to unlocking the full potential of the Brazilian market; most importantly, to ensure the needed user protection for sports fans but also to secure tax revenues for the country and ensure fair competition among licensed sportsbooks and partners.”
Growth: North America, paid media and esports
The North American market posted a positive performance, with revenue share income doubling year-on-year, driving approximately €4 million of revenue as the company’s transition to a recurring revenue share model since Q3 2022 begins to pay off. The affiliate also strengthened its presence in the US through the Roommates podcast’s annual Block Party in Central Park, New York during September, with brand interest remaining high as Tommy John returned as the main sponsor alongside new partners such as Bodyarmor.
The paid media segment delivered revenue growth to €27.6 million, while its EBITDA before special items increased to €7.1 million. Within this sector, CPA revenues grew 21% in the quarter, largely driven by key partners in North America and the UK.
Although revenue in the esports segment declined 3% to €4.4 million, margin held up at 53% from sponsorship growth of 28% and strong performance from its HLTV brand. CPM revenue dropped by 23%, primarily due to lower player engagement in the FUTBIN community during the final phase of the old EAFC game cycle. The affiliate pointed to the upcoming game cycle and the new EAFC 26 launch as potential growth for the arm in future quarters.
AI innovation and outlook
On the group’s latest products, Søgaard highlighted its new AI-powered betting solution Playbook, which was launched on 1 October 2025 in its strategic partnership with X, leveraging the affiliate with “unique access to scale, data and first-party insights”. According to the CEO, the tool had already processed “millions of bets” through partner platforms within weeks of launch.
“It realises a vision my co-founder, Christian (Kirk Rasmussen), and I have shared since founding the company – to empower fans with smarter, more personal and intuitive ways to engage with sports and betting,” Søgaard said. “Playbook represents the next evolution of Better Collective – expanding our focus from acquisition to retention, deepening user engagement and creating lasting value for fans and partners alike.”
Better Collective reaffirmed that its financial guidance for 2025 remains unchanged, with total revenue expected at €320 to 350 million and EBITDA before special items at €100 to 120 million. It anticipates Europe, Canada, the US and South American markets excluding Brazil to generate an EBITDA uplift of €20 to 40 million in the year, on top of its €50 million cost efficiency programme.
As of 30 September 2025, total assets stood at €1.07 billion, while equity amounted to €627 million, representing an equity-to-asset ratio of 59%. Net interest-bearing debt was €248 million, corresponding to a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.51x.
During the quarter, Better Collective secured a new €319 million three-year club facility, including an €80 million accordion option to strengthen liquidity. Cash and unused facilities totalled €88 million at quarter-end.