The announcement was made as part of an outlook statement accompanying its end of year results, in which the company reported a profit of £929,305.
But figures also revealed a 19% drop in continuing revenue for 2018. From January 1st to December 31st 2018, a figure of £6.2 million was recorded, down from £7.6 million the year before. A decline in social publishing revenue was cited by the company as one of the reasons for the slump.
Affiliate Sale
However, Gaming Realms’ discontinued operations helped take the edge of a potentially difficult year. In July 2018, the company’s affiliate marketing wing was offloaded with some of its B2C real money gaming enterprise – the remaining assets will be sold off in February 2019.
This decision was motivated by an increasingly difficult regulatory environment in the UK as authorities continue to introduce more stringent rules to combat problem gambling. Gaming Realms has stated that once the sale of its real money gaming business is complete, shareholders will be able to enjoy a period of ‘increased stability’ and ‘a significant reduction’ in costs.
Increased Licensing Revenue
Despite the shortfall in projected revenue, Gaming Realms’ licensing proceeds surged by 167% from £800,000 in 2017 to £2.2 million for 2018. This significant improvement was boosted by the expansion of the developer’s gaming library as well as its partnerships with 17 new distributors – these moves were lauded by Patrick Southon, CEO of Gaming Realms.
“We began our licensing business in 2017…to fully capitalise on the strength of our games development operations. In a period of 24 months we have developed, licensed and launched 34 games via major gaming partners such as GVC and 888, and captured over 3.5 per cent market share in New Jersey.”
Explaining the company’s wider strategy for 2019 and beyond, Southon also remarked:
“Post the imminent completion of the sale of the remaining B2C RMG business, we are looking forward to focusing solely on increasing the cadence of game development and licensing delivery as more B2B partners come online.
“The success to date in licensing our Slingo content illustrates a clear market opportunity to grow our revenue and profitability on an international level. This view has been further reinforced by the recent deal with Scientific Games to distribute of all our Slingo games via its global platform, which we expect to start contributing revenue in the latter part of 2019.”
US Expansion
The deal with Scientific Games will see the American gambling giant distribute all of Gaming Realms’ Slingo titles via its global platform. And flushed with its success in New Jersey, where its games account for around 3.5% in sales generated from slots, Gaming Realms is now in the process of applying for a license in Pennsylvania. The application is part of a wider initiative in which the developer hopes to expand its operations across the country. Chairman Michael Buckley offered further insights about the company’s plans for the rest of the year, stating:
“The operating plan for 2019 adopted by the board, is to continue the development and licence of mobile focused games using our unique Slingo brand, with increased income from our game portfolio through international distribution. Capitalising on our success in New Jersey, we intend to enter any new states in America which regulate online gaming.”