TheScore Eyes US Listing To Boost Valuation As Potential Canada Launch Looms


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TheScore has announced plans to potentially dual-list in the US to pump up its valuation.

In its Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, the Canadian company said it was “considering an additional public listing on a US stock exchange.”

CEO John Levy said a US listing would give access to a “significantly larger pool of capital.” In particular, he referenced a larger number of US retail and institutional investors.

“That could lead to more trading volume and a potential jumping market valuation,” Levy said.

In short, with US-listed operators like DraftKings and Penn National enjoying lofty valuations, TheScore wants to join the party.

The plan will be put to shareholders in a special meeting on February 10.

TheScore Bet update

Elsewhere, the Q1 figures painted a mixed picture of the company’s sports betting efforts to date.

Handle on theScore Bet was up 535% year-over-year to $55.8 million for the period. Some of that increase was due to launches in Colorado and Indiana at the start of the quarter. TheScore declined to break out growth alone for New Jersey, where its numbers have lagged in the past.

The company also posted a GGR loss on betting for the second consecutive quarter, raising questions about its trading.

GGR for Q1 was -$300,000. When taking into account promotional costs and fair-value adjustments on unsettled bets, net gaming revenue was -$2 million. The operator also posted –$300,000 GGR in Q4 last year, blaming the loss on “lumpy action” and relatively low volume.

When pressed again by analysts on Wednesday, Levy said he expected margins to normalize as volume grew.

Sports betting is an expensive business

The company-wide EBITDA loss almost doubled year-on-year from $4.8 million to $9.3 million. The uptick was primarily due to the expansion of gaming operations.

“Our new fiscal year is off to a stellar start, including our best-ever quarter for media revenue, exponential handle growth on theScore Bet, and yet another record period for our esports operations,” said Levy. “We continue to deepen our market-leading media and betting integrations and achieved year-over-year handle growth of 535% on theScore Bet. 

“While still in the early stages of this fast-growing industry, we are steadily strengthening our expanding footprint in the North American sports betting market. Now, following successful recent launches in Colorado and Indiana, we’re on track to launch in Iowa in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approval.”

The company’s share price climbed 7% following the update.