Catena Media is confident that its sweepstakes casino presence across the US has positioned it well strategically for potential future state online casino markets going live.
Regulated casino and social sweepstakes casinos were a ‘primary growth engine’ for the company, according to CEO Manuel Stan, attributed to a stronger product and better presence in organic search, as well as updates to the search algorithm.
Stan commented: “Both regulated casino and social sweepstakes casino showed robust growth, supported by improved product performance and higher organic search visibility that fed into higher engagement and monetisation.
“Our casino products also benefited from major search algorithm updates during the quarter that enhanced keyword rankings.”
Strategic positioning
The North American online casino sector is set to be expanded this year, as Alberta is scheduled to launch its regulated iGaming market.
However, Catena Media has already been affected by regulatory shifts on the continent as a result of an outright ban on sweepstakes in California last month.
Stan noted: “We remain mindful of the regulatory uncertainty surrounding social sweepstakes casino, including the ban in California that took effect on 1 January. That being said, we are seeing healthy interest in other states.
“More broadly, social sweepstakes casino positions us strategically for future online state casino launches by allowing us to build brands, databases and operational capability ahead of potential market regulation.”
Sweepstakes growth to come
Further on the sweepstakes ban in California, Stan mentioned on the Catena Media earnings call that it will “definitely have a negative impact overall in the sweep segment”, but growth is continuing to happen in other states, in addition to new operators entering the market.
Casino revenue during Q4 rose by 81% year-over-year to €13.9m (Q4 2024: €7.6m), as well as by 10% YoY across 2025 to €39.2m (2024: €35.8m). Regulated casinos delivered YoY growth of over 80%, while sweepstakes revenue more than doubled.
“I do think that we will continue to see growth in the sweepstakes segment in the near future,” stated Stan.
“Obviously, there’s the potential of other states regulating or changing the rules, and we’ll see how that will impact the business. But so far, the interest or the growth in other states, combined with the interest from new sweeps operators, is pretty much covering for the losses in California.”
Overall figures
Stan believes that the company’s figures from Q4 and the full year “offer encouragement that the business is moving in the right direction”.
Catena Media’s overall 2025 revenue from continuing operations dipped by 6% to €46.6m (2024: €49.6m), but Q4 revenue from continuing operations rose by 51% YoY to €15.6m (Q4 2024: €10.2m).
The company’s Q4 adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations increased by 211% YoY to €4.7m (Q4 2023: €1.5m), while adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for 2025 increased by 84% to €9.9m (2024: €5.4m).
