Aristocrat Leisure believes there is a significant opportunity in European iGaming despite the ongoing regulatory headwinds many companies in the gambling industry face.
The company provided its opinion on iGaming in Europe during its recent financial earnings call for the first half of its 2026 reporting period, covering the six months ending 31 March 2026, when asked about its $1bn revenue target for its Interactive segment by FY2029.
Specifically, the $1bn target includes Aristocrat Interactive‘s share of revenues generated from the NeoPollard Interactive Joint Venture, as the supplier is focused on further scaling its content and investing in iLottery to support this ambition.
However, with many regulatory changes across European jurisdictions, such as tax increases, investors challenged how it could be achieved if its European market share doesn’t reach high single-digits.
Europe’s headwinds won’t stop growth
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Trevor Croker, acknowledged the situation Aristocrat finds itself in regarding the European iGaming landscape, but expressed his confidence in Interactive operations succeeding in the regions, starting with the launch of Lightning Link later this year.
Croker said: “When you have the opportunities that we have in front of us in iGaming, it’s important to stay focused. We’ve really focused on the North American market, the Canadian market and the UK market.
“Your hypothesis about Europe is right. There are some moving pieces in Europe regarding the way the tax regimes in various countries are changing. Some of the access is changing as well.
“We do believe that our land-based content will resonate in iGaming and we’ve seen that initially. We expect to see that be very confidently reinforced when we launch Lightning Link later this year. We do see Europe as part of that.
“We are focused on getting our rightful share in North America and Canada, which are close to our core markets and continuing to build in Europe, both from our land-based gaming business point of view, where we hold a sort of 22 share of the install base, getting a stronger position in iGaming in the markets where we can compete effectively. It is part of our geographical opportunity in the $1bn.”
Aristocrat: $1bn target still possible
While $1bn is the target, investors pointed out earlier in the call that Aristocrat appears to currently be slightly behind in achieving that goal. In H1 26, Interactive reported:
- Revenue: $230.3m, up 6.5% year-on-year (YoY) (H1 25: $216.3m).
- Profit: $64.3m, down 10.6% YoY (H1 25: $71.9m).
- Margin: 27.9% (H1 25: 33.2%).
When asked about being behind the target, Croker and Aristocrat expressed confidence in still achieving this goal, despite iGaming not expanding across the US and regulatory changes in the UK, as well as the time it has taken for the company to execute its own portfolio from a technology and games approval perspective.
“What we do feel confident about is that we do see scaling of land-based franchises in digital and we’ve seen that already with some of the land-based games. We’re obviously excited about Lightning Link coming through,” noted Croker.
“We’re also focusing on as these markets open, being ready to open with them. We are in all markets except for Rhode Island at this stage, but we expect to see Rhode Island and Maine and other Canadian provinces open.
“At the same time, we’re now at 94% access to the market. We feel that we’ve built the leadership team under Dylan and other executives we brought in. They’re bringing in the capacity to drive towards that $1bn. Your comment is fair. We’re behind where we wanted to be and we own that.
Croker continued: “We also believe that, between the content work that’s going on, also the iLottery business, obviously Massachusetts and Michigan coming online in July, Colorado, which is an open RFP at the moment and continuing to scale those businesses, we see those as great ways to drive towards the $1bn target.
“The platforms business, it’s a good, stable business, but adding incremental capabilities, such as gaming analytics, we see as a way to enhance that business and to create more momentum towards that $1bn.
“In summary, we’ve got a sharpened focus on this. We’ve recruited the right talent execution, we’ve organised our commercial teams and we’ve got a line of sight on the things that we know we can control to get towards that target.”
Q1 financials summary
Overall (in AUD $)
- Revenue: $3.028bn (H1 25: $3.035bn).
- EBITA: $1.12bn, up 6.2% YoY (H1 25: $1.05bn).
- Margin: 36.9% (H1 25: 34.7%).
- Profit: $794m, up 8.4% YoY (H1 25: $732.6m).
Aristocrat Gaming
- Revenue: $1.96bn, up 4.9% YoY (H1 25: $1.87bn).
- Profit: $1.06bn, up 3% YoY (H1 25: $1.03bn).
- Margin: 54.2% (H1 25: 55.2%).
Product Madness (in US $)
- Social casino revenue: $541.7m, up 4.7% YoY (H1 25: $517.4m).
- Social casual revenue: $4.5m, down 91.4% YoY (H1 25: $52.2m). Social casual was sold early in the half.
- Revenue: $546.2m, down 4.1% YoY (H1 25: $569.6m).
- Profit: $253m, up 3.6% YoY (H1 25: $244.3m).
- Margin: 46.3% (H1 25: 42.9%).
Croker concluded: “Looking ahead, we are well-positioned for the full-year and to capture the strategic opportunities in front of us. Our operating model is driving greater efficiency and scale, and we are increasingly leveraging AI to enhance our strategic advantages and transform our processes.
“We remain committed to our capital management strategy and our on-market share buy-back program.”