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Earnings call · FY2026 Q3

Super Group (SGHC) Ltd (SGHC) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Concluded Nov 4, 2026 Audio replay Verified speakers
Nov 4, 2026 44:05 63 turns
Period
FY2026 Q3
Runtime
44:05
Sources
3 artifacts
Open full screen Slides 36

Transcript & audio

Verified speakers 44:05 Audio
Operator

Good morning, everyone. Hello, and welcome to Supergroup Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Webcast and Conference Call. Please note that this call is being recorded. After the speaker's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during that time, please press star and then 1 on your telephone keypad. Thank you. I'd now like to hand the call over to Intim Otobo, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss subgroup's results for the third quarter, 2026. During this call, subgroup may make comments of a forward-looking nature that are subject to risk, uncertainties, and other factors discussed further in its SEC violence, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from historical results or from our forecast. We assume no responsibility to update forward-looking statements other than as required by law. On today's call, we may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. These measures are in addition to, not a substitute for, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are included in the press release issued yesterday and available on the Investor Relations page of our website. We recommend that investors refer to the supplementary presentation posted to our website. Today, I'm joined by Neil Manashi, Chief Executive Officer, and Alinda Von Bay, Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared remarks, we'll open the call up for questions. And now, I'd like to turn the call over to Neil.

Thank you, Ing, and good morning, everyone. Supergroup continues to deliver. After a record second quarter, Q3 was a softer sports quarter with favorable outcomes for our sports customers, but casino once again offset that volatility. Record casino wages increased 11% year-over-year and 14% ex the U.S., providing predictable revenue that absorbs a softer sports quarter and supports ongoing growth. Customer activity reflected its typical summer seasonality across European football. As the major leagues returned, engagement rebounded quickly, reaching 6.2 million active customers in the month of September. The start of the new football season also marked the launch of our Manchester United partnership. This agreement supplements Betway's exclusive partnership portfolio with the world's top football clubs, and Man U strongly resonates with our African customers. In Africa, revenue grew 17% year-over-year to $262 million, and adjusted EBITDA was up 23% to $88 million, with a robust EBITDA margin of 34%. Sports wages grew 6% year-over-year, while casino wages were up 21% over the same period. Sports results were uneven during the quarter. A customer-friendly outcome in August and September outweighed solid margins in July. Despite this volatility, year-to-date sports margin remained within expected range. Importantly, we believe that volatility is transient, a structural improvement driven by improved pricing and trading, and a resilient parlay mix in Joe. Our African growth pipeline continues to develop. In Mozambique, we expect recent changes in online casino regulation to materially improve the commercial attractiveness of this market for us, which will further support our future growth prospects. We have successfully secured new casino licenses in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia, and both sports betting and casino licenses in Rwanda. We continue to actively pursue further opportunities. In Anibia, delayed upcoming changes to the local regulatory regime mean we now expect to launch in 2027 contingent on local policy adoption. Supercoin's establishment continues as we build a digital payment platform with utility extending beyond gaming. Foundations are in place. Customers have access to our wallet, and the coin is now live on South Africa's three largest exchanges. The next phase is focused on payments and expanded utility with additional wallet functionality expected to roll out this quarter and a full public launch plan for early 2027. We are also excited for the expansion of Supercoin beyond South Africa's borders. International revenue grew 5% year-over-year, extra U.S. grew 9% to $344 million, while adjusted EBITDA grew 24% to $93 million. Margin expanded more than 400 basis points, despite higher taxes in the U.K. We believe this performance highlights our disciplined marketing and leaner cost base at work. In Europe, revenue grew 6%, led by the U.K., up 13%. In North America, revenue grew 10%, excluding the U.S., while Canada, Ex-Ontario, and Alberta delivered 15% revenue growth, supported by strong casino performance. In Alberta, customers are adjusting to the newly regulated market. Our migration successfully completed in early October, and we remain confident in the long-term opportunity in Alberta. Rest-of-world revenue increased 5%, with New Zealand Resilient at 3% during a mandatory marketing hiatus ahead of next year's regulation. During the recent casino license auction, we secured three of the 15 available licenses. This positions us favorably in advance of the expected regulated market launch in 2027 when marketing efforts can resume. Supergroup's commitment to product advancements continues to set us apart. The advantages of owning or controlling our tech stack facilitate faster innovation and greater control over our roadmaps. We continue to enhance our sportsbooks and casino offerings, adding new features and improvements that we believe raise the standards across our product suite. With that, I'll turn it over to Alinda.

Thank you, Neil. Total revenue for the third quarter was up 10% year-over-year, reaching $611 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 8% to $165 million, ending the quarter with a margin of 27%. We grew average monthly active customers by 9% year-over-year, reaching $6 million this quarter. Wagering momentum remained strong, with total wagering up 11% for casino and 4% for sports. Customer-friendly sports results brought our sports margin down to 12.1% this quarter, well below our trailing 24-month average of 13.7%. This impacted revenue by approximately $40 million and adjusted EBITDA by around $25 million. Importantly, our year-to-date sports margin stands at 13.8%, keeping us comfortably within our target structural range. Our financial performance is built on a disciplined approach. We concentrate marketing spend in our highest return markets. While continuously refining our trading, payments, and technology operations, at the same time, we keep a firm grip on costs, navigating higher gaming taxes without losing sight of our strategic investment priorities. Turning to guidance, we need to account for the impact of quarter three sports results. With that in mind, we are revising our full year 2026 guidance with total revenue between $2.525 and $2.575 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is revised to be between $700 and $720 million, assuming fourth quarter sports margin remains within our normal range. Sports results are outside of our control, but sports wide room remains robust, and our business remains strong. Quarter 4 is off to a great start. Casino continues to grow, and our sports margin for October was the highest it's been all year. Our balance sheet remains strong. We ended this quarter with $602 million in cash, up 30% year-over-year. With a year-to-date free cash flow conversion of 70%. Over the last 12 months, we have returned approximately $223 million to our shareholders, including around $25 million in dividends this quarter. Neil will further address our capital allocation priorities. With that, I will now hand back to Neil.

Thank you, Alinda. Just nine months into the year, our EBITDA has already almost surpassed full year 2025, which itself was a record year for SuperGate. We enter the fourth quarter with strong momentum. The football season is in full swing. Casino is performing. We maintain a robust product pipeline, and our operating model is increasingly efficient. Our earnings convert to cash at a high rate, and we have a strong balance sheet, a combination that gives us real flexibility. Our framework is really straightforward. First, we invest in the business and in organic growth, including new markets, because that is where we see the best returns. Second, we pursue external growth selectively, and only where returns clear a high hurdle. Third, we return excess cash to shareholders. Our regular dividend remains a foundation of that, and we intend to grow it over time. Today, we're taking the next step under this framework. Our board has authorized a $150 million share repurchase program. We will execute it with discipline, and while we are not committed to a pace or a price, we will keep a strong balance sheet throughout so we can move quickly when the right opportunity arises. We are really well positioned and confident in the direction of the business and expect to finish 2026 strongly, carrying momentum into 2027. Operator, please can you open the call up for questions?

Operator

Thank you. We are now opening the floor for question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. Again, that's star followed by one on your telephone keypad. Your first question comes from the line of Jordan Bender of Citizens. Your line is now open.

Jordan Bender Analyst — Citizens

Hey, everyone. Good morning, and thanks for the question. To start on guidance, you know, if I adjust for the sport outcomes in the quarter and I see where the midpoint went to, it still implies that there might be maybe a delta between that number and the midpoint of guidance. And so can you maybe just talk about how you're getting to the revenue number that you guys laid out? And as I look to iCasino growth, you know, did decelerate, you know, 11% in the third quarter from 15 in the second and 20 in the first. So are you seeing any softening around kind of that iGaming customer?

Okay. So, and firstly, obviously, our new guide reflects the impact from the customer-friendly sports outcomes in Q3, and obviously, it preserves the upside from the original guide, right? What is key is our underlying business remains strong. Casino, customer engagement, year-to-date sports margins remains within our structural range. And one thing from our side, and I'm going to add on often, but if you recall from our September 2025 of yesterday, we are way ahead of our target.

Yes, and just to conclude that, we're definitely not seeing a slowdown in the iGaming business at all. It's just to allow for the Q3 sports margin that had an impact, and we're still within, you know, the guide midway through the guide that we've previously communicated.

Jordan Bender Analyst — Citizens

Perfect. Thank you. And then to follow up, Neil, you touched on the share repurchase program there for a minute, and you kind of made comments around you'll be more opportunistic around using that. But if you kind of think about excess capital and returning capital to shareholders, can you just kind of talk through your rankings around utilizing cash through dividends, through buybacks, investing into business, kind of what's your new priority list with the repurchase program now out there?

Yes, our priorities are unchanged, as previously also communicated. Discipline first, as we remain flexible, and with that amount of cash gives us that flexibility. First, we always invest in the business for organic growth with a clear path to return. Second, we consider external growth opportunities, but really always at the right price, and that will really supplement our business. And thirdly, if we then have excess cash, we are really... Focus on giving back to our shareholders in the form of special dividends, quarterly dividends, or buybacks. So it would be in that priority.

Jordan Bender Analyst — Citizens

Great. Thank you very much.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Clark Lampin of BTIG. Your line is now open.

Clark Lampin Analyst — BTIG

Thanks for taking the question. I have two, if I may. The first is sort of a minor clarification, I guess, on Jordan's question around guidance. Neil and Melinda, I didn't hear you guys call this out, but a few of your peers have mentioned unfavorable October sports results as part of their Q3 and sort of Q4 framework. Is there anything notable that you guys have seen thus far in the quarter that's sort of worth calling out? And then the second question that I have is related to 2027. Neil, in your prepared remarks, I think I counted at least five market launches where the operating backdrop and I guess the sort of regulatory regime has been favorable and sort of opens the door to entry. Could you give us, you know, I think we have a decent handle on the organic growth trajectory. Could you give us... A feel for the markets that are in focus near term for a 2027 launch that could be contributors. Thanks very much.

Okay. All right. So, first of all, let's start with October. October was a great month for sports. So, overall, the months, as Linda mentioned, are highest margins this year. I think it's important to everyone understand we've got a large African parlay business, right? Obviously, together with a more traditional international book, makes us quite unique when you compare us to our list of operators. In practice, that means we can see days when a loss in Africa is also a far profit or international vice versa, right? So you can't always extrapolate other operators' results on us. That's the first thing, right? And when it comes to market launches, obviously, I mentioned in Libya that we were hoping to do Q4, but obviously, their regime is changing a bit, so we are all We're ready to go operationally, and now it's just about waiting for them to issue the new license. So as soon as we get the new license, we can go. So we're hoping in 2027. We mentioned other ones like Rwanda, where we've managed to get casino and sports licenses. There, we have to work on the tax framework to see what's happening. They're all out of market. If you go from the bottom of Africa up, Zimbabwe, et cetera, are all starting to come. And also importantly, we've also got Mozambique, which I did mention, they've changed, finally changed the casino tax regime there, which means that we can actually no longer have to withhold tax on casino winnings, which means we can now compare favorably with the other operators. And then finally, just on the international side, you notice it's finally taken years and years for New Zealand. We finally have secured three out of the 15 licenses there. So we're really excited about that, and that should be coming in probably mid-2027. Yeah. And lastly, just one more point. I'll tell you, there's one more point I'll add. Germany, we finally have got these online slots. So hopefully, let's see, you know, we should be going up there soon. Let's be working the top, and let's see how that market then performs.

Clark Lampin Analyst — BTIG

Is Nigeria still part of your roadmap for 2027, or has there been anything that's sort of changed that maybe has delayed, you know, that as a priority or opportunity?

Yes, no, that is an existing market where we've been sitting in the early innings, but obviously we're happy with our progress. The team on the ground is doing well, and we're just really happy where we are. Remember, we online first in that market, so we still got some more local products and payments to put in there, but improved technology, products, team, and bench links, we are geared up really well for that market. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Mike Hickey of Benchmark. Your line is now open.

Mike Hickey Analyst — Benchmark

Hey, Neil, Linda, Inc. Thanks for taking our questions, guys. Good morning or afternoon. Just on 27, obviously, you have a lot of momentum here in your business. I'm just curious if you could kind of rank maybe in terms of growth where you're most confident, Neil or Linda, and then also curious how you think about the World Cup. As a growth comparable next year, I think most of the upside was on adding new players, but sort of how you think about that. And then some of the events, Neil, I'm less familiar with men's cricket, and I think Rugby World Cups are next year. You've got the Africa Cup again, and then Women's Soccer World Cups. Just curious if those would be big catalysts for you or not. Thanks, guys.

Thank you, Mike, for your question. Keeping in mind that we don't want to share too much about 2027 yet, we remain within that strategy to be the best operating efficient machine we can be to expand, have that further margin expansion. But our growth opportunities is very diversified, like Neil just went through the Africa and the international strategy for organic growth. And then if we go back to our capital allocation, we really take a bit of that money that we have to reinvest back in our business. So our marketing ratios, we keep within the range of 21% and 22% for 2027, also to show the commitment to grow those markets. But the real success is in the efficiencies of the business. And that's why we continuously, court on court, to see this margin expansion.

Yeah, and obviously the World Cup did help us in June and July, but remember, it was the wrong time, though. So it doesn't have that effect on our international customers and our African customers because the times were wrong. But yes, you've got all from the World Cup, rugby, et cetera, coming this year. They all just add extra content to our ecosystem. So we're tired about that. And remember, we talked about capital allocation. We talked about inorganic growth. Obviously, we're always looking for inorganic growth, but the price has to be right. And when we find the right one, we will definitely execute on it. So for us, we've got all these levers to pull. But most importantly is, again, what we have achieved this year especially is the cross-pollination of international and Africa together. We are one business. So anything we see that works well, we can use that in each of the markets we're in. And it's all about being local in each of the markets and then with this overall tech stack that supports it.

Mike Hickey Analyst — Benchmark

This is a quick follow-up. Thank you for that color. Friendly outcomes, not unusual in your business. I think we had a big one last fourth quarter. 25 tied to the Africa Cup. And of course, post that, we saw really strong recycling activity from your players. It sounds like October has been strong. I'm just curious how much of that you think is the recycling of the sports winnings from 3Q into your sports and casino business. And that recycling activity has been sort of normal, or if you think maybe given the amount of parlay exposure and the size of the winnings, that we could have more duration in that recycling cycle.

Yes. So, listen, we run different sportsbooks, right? Especially, you know, international is very different to Africa, right? So international looks obviously like other operators when you compare us, but obviously our Africa parlay is quite unique, right? Because what it does is it parles of sometimes 10 or more legs with small stakes, but they can get large wins. So even when the big winners come, they keep placing small bets relative to what they want. So the money comes back in Africa over a much longer period. So that is why we occasionally see bigger swings in our peers, and it'll take us a little more time to get it. And of course, they may go and recycle into casino, et cetera. But overall, we always manage over time to claw back. It just takes slightly longer in Africa, right? But I suppose that is the brilliance of the African model and why the structural hold retention and margins are so much higher than our international side. Nice. Perfect. Thank you, guys.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of grant mentor of Workplace. Your line is now open.

Grant Morden Analyst — Workplace

Hi, everybody. Thanks for taking the question. Sorry if I missed this topic earlier on. Can you guys just talk a little bit about some of the news over the quarter about proposed South African gambling tax? What's the latest there? How are you thinking about a potential earnings impact if something like that was to come to pass?

Okay, so as a reminder, there's currently a 6.5% provincial tax in South Africa and a 15% VAT which goes to the state. So this probably comes in at just under 20% of GGR. Treasury had put some discussion paper out a while ago. We're talking about an additional 20% tax on GGR on top of all of it. But remember, it's not a concrete proposal yet. There's currently lots more industry consultation. Any updates on this is obviously expected in the February 2027 budget. But importantly, a proposal is not law, and the new national tax would require legislative, provincial, and presidential approval. And the numbers are out there, so we won't be able to struggle to work out what the impact will be for us. But this increase won't be immaterial, but our business obviously is strong, and we've been navigating this for three decades. But there's quite a road to go on there between the provincial and the state.

Grant Morden Analyst — Workplace

Okay, thanks for that. And then just a quick follow-up, in terms of Kenya in 27, can you just give us an update on that market and your thoughts around potential timing and any other developments for that market over the last three months?

So, basically, Kenya, I mean, it's funny, before we listed, we were in Kenya, and then they increased the taxes, and we actually ended up giving our license back. But now what's happened has become the cheapest regulatory regime in Africa tax-wise. Now we have to go through all the process again and reapply. So we've reapplied, and we're hoping in 2027 to be able to turn it on again. So I suppose that's just the lesson in rather just keeping all the licenses we acquire over time. And also, you know, Supercoin is also going to be getting the Killion Shilling stablecoin. We're hoping to get there as well on that. But really, when it comes to all of these markets, Kenya, Rwanda, et cetera, be patient before we relaunch. We understand the regulatory and tax environment, capital controls, product finding, finding the right local people, and everything must work together. And when it works together, that's when we start executing our marketing machine. Great. Thanks, everyone.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Ryan Sickle of Craig's column. Your line is now open.

Ryan Sickle Analyst — Craig-Hallum

Hey, good day, Neil, Linda, Inc. I want to start with Alberta, Providence, you guys, Providence, excuse me, you guys. Took a more phased, regulated launch here in October, but can you talk through kind of key takeaways from that transition for you guys and then what you're seeing in that market?

Sure. So obviously we've done a good job, or the team, we've done a good job transitioning our customers to the newly regulated market, which obviously happened in October. The customers are adjusting, obviously, to the new changes in the product environment, such as the removal of autoplay features. We're keeping a close eye on it. We're making improvements every day, every week. The marking machine is going to start resuming its rollout. We've moved all our customers across onto the new regulated platform. And overall, we expect it to be a more rational, competitive environment than what we found in Ontario. So let's see how it goes, and we are well-placed.

Ryan Sickle Analyst — Craig-Hallum

Just on users, monthly active users, I appreciate slide 10 with the monthly cadence. I think that's helpful from a seasonality standpoint to show. 6.2 million in September. Are you willing to say what it was in October, at least directionally if it was higher, and then kind of break out? I know you had some tax changes in a couple smaller African countries, Malawi, et cetera, but just kind of piecemeal the low-value customer churn with kind of some higher-value additions, et cetera, that puts takes within that model number. Thanks.

All right. So, first of all, what you're asking is some of these analyses. Remember, the 6 million customers is almost up 9% on last year. We've got persistency of our cohorts continues to be as strong as ever. We keep layering the cake. And I suppose the key driver fast has always been in the business for the last two and a half decades is the super persistence and yearsy, profitable revenue per customer. So we're not chasing these unprofitable customers simply to maximize our max.

Sorry, just to add a bit more color there, we closed September at 6.2 million customers. So remember, we report on the average for the quarter. And as we alluded to, October is off to a great start.

Ryan Sickle Analyst — Craig-Hallum

Thanks, guys. Good luck.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Jed Kelly of Oppenheimer. Your line is now open.

Jed Kelly Analyst — Oppenheimer

Hey, great. Thanks for taking my question. Just looking at your customer acquisition efficiency, if I kind of look at, like, where your guidance is going to shake out, how you're performing, it looks like marketing is going to be... Flat down this year. Just can you talk about how sustainable that is and what's driving that and how we should think about your customer acquisition? Thank you.

Okay, so I'll start there. One of the important drivers of our business has been, besides the operating efficiency, is our marketing efficiency. So, you know, it's a big number we are spending every year, and we found some areas where we can be more efficient. And for us, do we have enough in our marketing budget in order to compete? And we absolutely do. Over 500 million or even more, we absolutely do. So now the question is finding even more homes for it. So, you know, I mean, some of our competitors are less than 15 percent, some are less than 18. So around 20 to 21 percent, 22 percent, we are more than happy with how those returns are coming and how those cohorts are paying back over time.

And our focus is always to optimize marketing spend and to move it to areas where we see the returns. I think as well that it can't be just a percentage all the time. You have to look at the monetary value because the revenue keeps on growing. But we've also always been a business about acquiring customers with organic approach and with the funds that we generate to invest it back in our business.

Jed Kelly Analyst — Oppenheimer

Great. And then just on the buyback, can you talk about sort of implementing a buyback versus measuring the float on your shares and how you kind of try to thread that needle with buyback in your current float? Thank you.

So, let's just recap. The board did approve $150 million buyback, and they wanted the buyback to be meaningful. But still, we need to remain disciplined. So, this is the first try for us. And with this, it gives us the ability to still be opportunistic in other areas with using this cash, like Neal alluded to, organic investments, and M&A. We can always revisit the size with the board at any point in time, and if the circumstances materially change. But keep in mind, our regular dividend remains the foundation of our shareholders' returns. In the last 12 months, we've returned more than $220 million to the shareholders, and that's quite impressive.

Jed Kelly Analyst — Oppenheimer

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Weber of Canaccord Genuity. Your line is now open.

Matt Weber Analyst — Canaccord Genuity

Hi, all. Good morning, and thanks for taking the questions. I just want to ask about New Zealand. I believe you previously said that you expected regulation to have little effect on profitability in that market. Now that you know the auction price and have the right to apply for the three licenses, does that assessment still hold? And then are you able to comment on how much of your current New Zealand casino revenue comes from brands that you expect to take forward?

Okay, so let's start here. We've already operated in Zealand for over two decades. And in the last year or two, we haven't been able to market there, right, because there's certain marketing restrictions. So when they came out with these 15 licenses, we decided to get three. So our three top brands can now go live and continue there. And just to remind everyone there, it's an eight-year license that costs about a million dollars a year. But all the other taxes of that market, we already pay. So, first, we transition into the new software, and we can go and start marketing as we used to. So, actually, we're really excited about it because we've been in no man's land now. We weren't allowed to market, and yet we still preserved our revenue there, which is how strong our brand presence is there. And now, I think about it's going to be 15 licenses, of which we are... 3 over 15 on that, so that's 20%. So we think there's lots of opportunity there.

And maybe just to add, keep in mind that we've already been paying taxes in New Zealand for the last couple of years, so we won't have that impact on EBITDA. But we can now also turn on marketing, which we haven't been able to do, so which will have a favourable impact on the growth.

Matt Weber Analyst — Canaccord Genuity

Got it. Thank you. That's a helpful color. And then maybe if I can just on the United Kingdom, seems like another quarter of solid growth and share gains there. Just how durable do you see those share gains over the course of 2027? And do you expect any material impact from the new duty on most for sports bets, most remote sports bets when it takes effect next April? Thanks.

Yeah, so the UK is still good for us. Remember, I still think we're still under indexed there. All our competitors now have increased rates in the shops as well for the slot machines. So I think that everyone's reeling into how they can make this market work. For us, it's worked. We're efficient. We've combined our businesses there, so we're really seeing this operating efficiency, and over time, the marketing rates are coming down. So for us, and remember, a lot of our sponsorships come from English Premier League. So we're really visible there, improving our product there. So for us, we have navigated that really, really well. And we've got a disciplined lasting team and obviously leaner cost base. So all of that leads to be able to take those extra taxes into account. Thanks, guys.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chad Bainan of Macquarie. Your line is now open.

Chad Bainan Analyst — Macquarie

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Given that you're not as focused on the U.S. OSB iCasino market, how are you thinking about potential prediction market opportunities here stateside or in other markets as well? Thanks.

So, listen, for us, it's really when we exited the US, we really focused on Canada and our international markets and in Africa. And in most of our markets, actually, all of them, most of them, they basically, prediction markets are gambling. They all have to be regulated and pay the local taxes. So the truth is, we don't have a predictions product. We are focused purely on our sportsbook and our online casinos, which is what we built over the last year. And that's where we are able to literally compete head on with them or our competitors.

Chad Bainan Analyst — Macquarie

Thanks, Neil. And then, Linda, you kind of touched on this in terms of sponsorship and marketing, but I just wanted to ask directly on the Man U sponsorship. So, you know, you talked about MAUs increasing in the last couple months against that average, but notwithstanding the current team's results, which will, you know, hopefully and most likely improve as we get through the season. How are you measuring success with that sponsorship at this point?

Yes, the partnership started with the new season obviously in this quarter, and we are seeing positive engagement from our customers, particularly in Africa. I think last quarter we called out that in Africa alone there's more than a quarter of 250 million fans in Africa alone, so the engagement is just big for us in Africa. And importantly, this is a long-term investment in our brand and the strength that supports the sustainable customer growth. So across all our key markets, this is exactly what this exclusivity brings us with these partnerships.

Thank you very much. And then I'll just add in here that obviously the results on the pitch do not change the value of men. It's not an exclusive deal, right? Probably more favorable for our sportsbook when men united rules or loses, but otherwise, yeah. Thanks, Bill.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Bernie McKernan of Needham. Your line is now open.

Bernie McKernan Analyst — Needham

Great. Thanks for taking the question. Neil, I don't think I've heard you mention Germany before. Can you detail that opportunity and maybe what's changing there and why now?

So, I mean, I've done it probably over the last four years, kept reading Germany, and basically Germany moved to a regulated regime, and they forced us to have separate wallets for casino and sports. But when we built our software, it was always built with one wallet. So, it's taken us about a time to eventually get there to be able to separate the wallet, and now finally we can operate with casino separately on a separate wallet. So let's see how it goes. The regular regime, they're still very tough because they've got deposit limits, etc. But because we have done the sportsbook and done all the work, we have now done this extra work to get to decouple the two wallets. So let's see how that goes.

Bernie McKernan Analyst — Needham

Okay, got it. And then just to follow up on guidance philosophy, now that there could be a couple potential new markets coming next year, should we expect you to start the year with any of those launches in the guidance, or is it just going to be kind of steady state and that would be incremental if they did come to fruition?

I mean, we will communicate in detail the drivers of our guidance in 2027 when we come out with guidance, but the key drivers will remain the same as what we've, you know, in 2026, what we know at that point in time, we will guide for. It will be strictly organic growth. There will be no aggressive persistency assumptions, and we will remain. We talked a lot about this marketing discipline, so anything over about 19%, 20%, we will see as investment back into the business, and we will assume our fourth margin will be within our expected range, which is always, always a tricky one. We will include, however, anything that we already have launched in 2026, such as Alberta, which will have new tax regime, etc. That will be in the guide.

Bernie McKernan Analyst — Needham

Understood. Thank you both.

Operator

Thank you. I'd now like to hand the call back to Neil for closing remarks.

Okay. Thank you, everyone, for joining today's call. We are really proud of the team's execution, and we remain focused on delivering against our strategy. We look forward to speaking to you all again soon. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you for attending today's call. You may now disconnect. Goodbye.

Analyst Q&A · 9 questions
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