TheScore posted a near $7 million EBITDA loss in Q2, as the company’s betting product felt the impact of the sports shutdown.
That loss was up 15% from Q1, despite the introduction of Canadian wage subsidies to help companies during the pandemic.
TheScore Bet handle for the quarter was around $2.8 million, down from $10 million in the first quarter of the year. That 72% drop-off was significantly higher than the number reported by PointsBet yesterday.
Meanwhile, revenue from that handle was just $61,000. When taking into account promotional costs and the value of unsettled bets, net gaming revenue a loss of $17,000.
A turnaround for theScore Bet on the way?
TheScore blamed the wider EBITDA loss on COVID-19 and the costs of expanding its sports betting operations.
As for liquidity, the company ended the quarter with $13 million of cash on hand and a $4 million revolving credit facility. And CEO John Levy predicted a dramatic turnaround for the operator with the return of live sports.
Levy said sessions on theScore app had doubled with the return of baseball, and that was feeding through into betting activity.
“In the first week of live baseball on theScore Bet, we nearly matched our total betting handle from Super Bowl week,” Levy said. “All with just one of the major sports back at play.”
He said the firm was well-positioned to capitalize as other sports returned to play.
Quiet time used for product upgrades
In the meantime, theScore used the relative downtime period to fine-tune its product. Notably, that meant “significant improvements” to the payments and promotional infrastructure.
The latter upgrade allowed the company to introduce a new cashback scheme, offering new and existing users 5% cashback on their losses up to $2,500. To take full advantage of the offer, a bettor would need to place $50,000 in wagers.
“We also continued to deepen the unique and cutting edge integrations between our gaming and media platforms that truly set us apart from our rivals,” said COO Benjie Levy. Those improvements will be rolled out into the fall.
“Soon it’s going to be MLB, NBA, NHL, starting at noon and running till midnight every day of the week,” John Levy added. “So we think that’s really when the integrated approach starts to shine and we’re really excited to get back to it.
The company also aims to launch sports betting in Colorado and Indiana this summer, pending final approvals.
Shares in the company ticked up around 1% following the results announcement.
