TORONTO, May 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rivalry Corp. (the "Company" or "Rivalry") (TSXV:RVLY) (OTCQX:RVLCF) (FSE: 9VK), the leading sportsbook and iGaming operator for Gen Z, is pleased to announce its 2023 annual letter to shareholders and the filing of its financial results for the three (3) and 12-month period ended December 31, 2023. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars. 2023 Annual Letter to Shareholders To our Shareholders, This time last year I spoke about Rivalry's evolution from a market leader in esports to a diversified Company setting the standard for Gen Z betting entertainment broadly. Today, we have a business with revenue distribution across casino, sports, and esports betting, growing market share in new geographies, with increased velocity in core regions, and the strongest customer KPIs in Rivalry's history. In 2023, Rivalry recorded $423.2 million in betting handle1, up 82% from the previous year. Similarly, gross gaming revenue2 and net revenue both saw 34% and 66% respective increases, while the introduction of higher margin products released in H2 such as Same Game Combos and Quick Combos are continuing to improve overall sportsbook hold and guide Rivalry closer to profitability. Our deepened product suite now includes fantasy, additional sports coverage, and new proprietary casino games. All of which are uniquely driving growth among a targeted customer segment and widening our opportunity set in 2024 and beyond – from a 60% increase in traditional sports betting to a burgeoning B2B game vertical. The potential for how far our brand can go is just beginning to unfold. The year ahead is rife with new, innovative product releases arriving in Q2 and continuing throughout 2024. We are doubling down on core growth opportunities in sports that resonate with our audience, such as basketball and soccer. Further, we are building on a successful casino segment which already represents 50% of our business, enhancing variety, depth, and accessibility, as well as developing new original games which blur the lines between betting and entertainment. We are in the process of additional geographic expansion, and pursuing new licenses to broaden our total addressable market, positioning Rivalry to own the Gen Z gambling opportunity globally. While Rivalry's operations have expanded into new high-growth verticals, our north star has remained the same: to define the future of online gambling for a generation born on the internet. Online gambling in 2024 is radically different than it was just six years ago when Rivalry launched. In that time we've seen gaming and internet culture reshape how consumers engage with technology. That shift is broadening the definition of gambling, where product design is influenced by video games, or it exists fully embedded within social apps like Telegram, where content creators are the new affiliates, and much more. Over the same period, the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has introduced a new level of speed, access, and security to web-based consumer experiences. Industry estimates now put crypto wagers at up to one quarter of global betting handle3, with 30% year-over-year growth in 20244, and showing no signs of slowing down. The development of this ecosystem has commercially unlocked online gambling unlike anything since its first transition from land to online many years ago. It has brought in a new global audience, and enriched the customer experience from end-to-end. Alongside the growth of this technology has emerged new methods of gambling, taking wallet share from more traditional forms at an accelerated rate. The shift in consumer behavior and the signal from our users is clear – interactive, volatile, and crypto-infused product experiences will set the precedent for how the next generation gambles online. Rivalry, with a brand steeped in internet culture and living at the intersection of this digital economic renaissance, is well-positioned to access this growth opportunity. There is high overlap between Gen Z, gamers, gamblers, and a fast-growing audience of over 420 million crypto users worldwide5 organically aligned with our audience and brand. And we believe that more than half of this audience globally is already wagering with crypto. It will be Rivalry's ability to understand, implement, and adapt to this shift more rapidly than our peers that we expect to create first-mover advantages for us. It is for that reason that our vision is now bolder than ever for what's possible in the online gambling category. Soon, we will reveal plans for a crypto-enabled product set to enhance alignment between Rivalry and its users, increase network effects, and generally deliver a consumer experience that lives on the internet of 2024. To that effect, the success of our first-party games and their ability to acquire and engage a captive audience of Gen Z bettors online has validated our original game development strategy amongst industry peers. ...