Unibet, the online gambling operator, said first-quarter gross winnings revenue rose 15 percent to £36.1 million over the same quarter last year.
Before free bets, the company's non-sports betting segment, which consists of casino, games and poker, came in at £21.8 million, up 4.8 percent against 2007.
Unibet's sports betting arm, meanwhile, grew gross winnings revenue 34.7 percent to £15.9 million, with consolidated gross margins in at 7.9 percent versus 8.1 percent a year ago.
By business segment, casino accounted for 34 percent of the company's gross winnings revenue; traditional sports betting, 31 percent; poker, 19 percent; live betting, 8 percent; and other products, 8 percent.
Growth was reported across the company's three core geographies, with the Nordics up 2.3 percent, Western Europe up 16.8 percent and Central, Eastern and Southern Europe up 60 percent.
Profits after tax were in at £9.6 million and marketing costs, £8.3 million -- or 22 percent of gross winnings revenue -- were in line with previous guidance.
Little visibility was given on Maria Holdings Ltd., an online gaming business targeting women, at a presentation for analysts and investors in Stockholm Monday.
Petter Nylander, chief executive of Unibet, said Maria's international rollout is behind schedule but added, "We're slowly but surely getting there."
The company financed the Maria acquisition with a 100 million euro bond issue in December 2007. To date, it has repurchased approximately 35 million euros.
Mr. Nylander said the company had yet to see any recession-related weakness in its business model.