Sportech trades in line YTD

Online gambling business Sportech said on Tuesday that its year-to-date trading performance was in line with internal expectations.

Sportech stated sports betting continued to experience "a high rate of growth" and should see betting handle in the group's Connecticut Venues come close to that of pari-mutuel for the full year.

However, pari-mutuel wagering and food and beverage trading continued to feel the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with trade remaining below the 2019 full-year highs.

The AIM-listed firm noted record online growth in pari-mutuel betting seen during the pandemic had "receded slightly" as the effects of new forms of online gambling in Connecticut inevitably impacted the discretionary gambling dollar available to historic Sportech products.

On the other hand, Sportech added that the introduction of sports betting had been "very positive" and said the board was confident that the company will achieve the projected overall improvement in its Venues business that will support "a positive group EBITDA" in 2022.

Separately, Sportech said chief executive Andrew Lindley will step down from the role following the group's annual general meeting, with non-executive chairman Richard McGuire set to take over as executive chairman, effective immediately.

As of 1000 BST, Sportech shares were down 0.64% at 23.35p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com