Esports betting company Rivalry posts $19.2M net loss in 2021

Esports betting company Rivalry has posted its financial performance for 2021, describing it as a "tremendous year by nearly all measures."

Brass tacks: Rivalry went public on the TSX Venture Exchange in October 2021.

• The company's betting handle — the amount of money wagered by bettors — grew to $60.9M ($78.2M CAD) in 2021. This is an increase of 202% from its $20.2M ($25.9M CAD) total the year prior.
• It posted revenue of $8.6M ($11.1M CAD) for the year, marking a 617% increase from its 2020 revenue of $1.2M ($1.5M CAD). It has a cost of revenue of $6.9M ($8.9M CAD), resulting in a gross profit of $1.7M ($2.2M CAD).
• Operating expenses for Rivalry in 2021 totalled $21M ($26.9M CAD) and included a bad debt expense of $1.2M ($1.5M CAD), share based compensation of $8.2M ($10.5M CAD), a marketing & advertisement expense of $4.7M ($6M CAD), and general & administration expenses of $4.8M ($6.2M CAD).
• The betting brand posted a net loss of $19.2M ($24.7M CAD) and a total comprehensive loss of $18.9M ($24.3M CAD). In 2020 it had a net loss and total comprehensive loss of $5.4M ($6.9M CAD).

The performance: While the net loss may not seem promising on the surface, Rivalry grew in many of the right places.

• The company revealed that it had $27.7M ($35.5M CAD) in cash at the end of 2021 and no debt.
• Revenue for the company increased dramatically, much more than the betting handle did, proving that it doesn't have any trouble in generating a return. Its expenses did also increase dramatically though, which is obviously what drove the sharp increase in loss.
• Customer registrations throughout the year totalled approx. 610,000 in 2021, up from 350,000 in 2020. This is an encouraging sign for Rivalry, which is vying to become the undisputed, unrivalled (pardon the pun) destination for betting in the esports industry.
• "As our traditional sports betting product has continued to improve, we are seeing a more diverse product mix, which is helping to blunt the seasonality of esports, something that we expect to continue in the future,” said Rivalry CEO Steven Salz looking ahead.