iGaming Q2 2026 Round-Up: Affiliate and Media Companies Report Their Second-Quarter Results

The iGaming Q2 2026 results are in from five of the sector’s most closely watched listed groups. Better Collective, Raketech, Acroud, Gentoo Media and Catena Media all reported the April to June period within two weeks of each other in August 2026. The companies describe themselves in different ways, from a digital sports media group to a global affiliate, but each earns a large share of revenue through affiliate-style deals with operators.

The pattern reads almost like variations on a single theme. Across the group, the FIFA World Cup 2026 drove record or near-record player intake and deposits, while revenue in most cases did not keep pace.

Record deposits, slower revenue: the pattern across all five reports

A large share of this revenue is earned through revenue-share deals. Those pay out over the lifetime of a referred player, not at the moment of acquisition. So a tournament that breaks deposit records shows up in the funnel first and the revenue line quarters later.

Gentoo Media illustrated this clearly. It reported record value of deposits of EUR 207 million and player intake of 101,900 first-time depositors, yet revenue fell 9 percent.

Better Collective reported the same dynamic, with new depositing customers up 24 percent to 373,000 and value of deposits reaching an all-time high of EUR 836 million.

Better Collective grows revenue 9 percent to EUR 89 million on North American strength

Better Collective, which describes itself as a digital sports media group, posted the strongest scale numbers of the group. Revenue rose 9 percent to EUR 89 million. EBITDA before special items climbed 20 percent to EUR 27 million, a margin of 30 percent. Cash flow from operations before special items increased 59 percent to EUR 30 million, a cash conversion of 111 percent.

North America drove much of the growth, with the regional EBITDA margin before special items moving from 5 percent to 26 percent in a year. Sponsorship revenue rose 39 percent, and CPA revenue rose 11 percent to EUR 19 million.

Co-CEO and Co-Founder Jesper Søgaard framed the quarter as evidence of the earnings power of the model, and the company held its full-year guidance unchanged. During the quarter Better Collective launched its Playbook betting product in Brazil, and after the period it went live in Alberta, Canada as the province opened its regulated market. The quarter also absorbed roughly EUR 2 million from the UK Remote Gaming Duty rising from 21 to 40 percent and about EUR 2 million from regulatory changes in Brazil.

Acroud lifts network new depositing customers 84 percent to a record 28,319

Acroud, which describes itself as a global iGaming affiliate with a SaaS business, grew revenue 9 percent to EUR 12.0 million. Total new depositing customers reached 67,558, up 38 percent, and its Network model delivered an all-time high of 28,319, up 84 percent year on year. The business runs across two segments, iGaming Affiliation and SaaS, which houses the Network model.

Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 1.3 million came in slightly below an unusually strong comparative quarter, but rose against the first quarter of 2026. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 2.2 times.

President and CEO Mikael Strunge pointed to AI-enabled workflows as a live cost lever, with personnel expenses down almost 15 percent even as revenue grew. The company completed the final principal repayment on its interest-bearing debt outside the bond structure, and set new targets for 2026 to 2028 built around adjusted EBITDA growth of about 12 percent a year and net debt below 1.25 times by the end of 2028.

Raketech lifts its adjusted EBITDA margin to 24 percent for a second straight quarter

Raketech, which describes itself as a performance-based marketing and technology company, reported on continuing operations. Revenue from continuing operations fell 17.6 percent to EUR 5.6 million while profitability moved higher. Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 1.3 million marked a second consecutive quarter of EBITDA improvement, with the adjusted EBITDA margin strengthening to 24 percent from 21.2 percent a year earlier.

CEO Johan Svensson tied the quarter to the largest sports campaign in the company’s history around the FIFA World Cup. After the period, Raketech signed a new partnership to launch an iGaming media platform in Italy, its first media-led product outside the Nordics, expected to go live towards the end of the third quarter.

Gentoo Media expands its margin to 39 percent on a leaner cost base

Gentoo Media offered the clearest picture of the funnel-to-revenue gap. Revenue fell 9 percent to EUR 22.9 million, yet EBITDA before special items rose 5 percent to EUR 8.9 million and the margin expanded to 39 percent.

CEO Jonas Warrer called returning the business to top-line growth the clearest priority for the rest of the year.

Gentoo also cut its full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting revenue of EUR 97 to 100 million and EBITDA before special items of EUR 44 to 47 million, down from earlier ranges.

Catena Media steadies revenue at EUR 9.5 million while shifting beyond search

Catena Media, whose business remains closely tied to traditional affiliation, held roughly flat. Revenue from continuing operations slipped 1 percent to EUR 9.5 million and adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations fell 11 percent to EUR 1.2 million. New depositing customers from continuing operations still grew 23 percent, and North America accounted for 97 percent of continuing revenue.

CEO Manuel Stan set out a strategic shift beyond traditional affiliation toward a next-generation marketplace platform, with MRKTPLAYS already contributing more than a third of group revenue.

On capital, the company disclosed a voluntary offer to buy back its CATME H01 hybrid capital securities at 20 percent of nominal value, and confirmed it continues to defer interest on that instrument, which it classifies as equity. It also announced a share buyback of up to 5.98 percent of outstanding shares, intended to meet obligations under its long-term incentive programmes rather than as a broader capital return.

Balance sheet moves shaping the Q2 2026 results

Beyond the revenue lines, capital discipline ran through every report. Better Collective lifted cash flow from operations before special items 59 percent to EUR 30 million and kept its full-year guidance unchanged. Acroud completed the final principal repayment on its interest-bearing debt outside the bond structure and now targets net debt below 1.25 times adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2028. Raketech kept improving profitability while working through its restructuring.

Two groups carry heavier items worth reading alongside the growth. Gentoo Media has a EUR 91.5 million bond maturing in December 2026, with refinancing under evaluation and a market update promised no later than 1 October 2026. Catena Media continues to defer interest on its hybrid capital securities and is offering to buy them back at 20 percent of nominal value. Both are disclosed plainly in the companies’ own reports.

What the Q2 2026 results mean for operators and partners

For operators and affiliate partners, this quarter reads as a planning signal rather than a scoreboard. The record intake reported by Better Collective, Gentoo Media and Acroud shows the tournament worked at the top of the funnel.

The value of a traffic partner now sits in the quality and durability of the cohort it delivers, not the raw intake number during the event. That is why Catena Media is building toward lifetime value and first-party data, and why Better Collective points to revenue-share income maturing over time.

For partners, the takeaway is concrete. A revenue-share deal should be judged over the coming quarters, and it rewards those who can demonstrate lifetime value rather than first-time deposits alone.

Future outlook: what the sector is watching in H2 2026

The second half will show whether the World Cup cohorts mature into recurring revenue. Better Collective, Gentoo Media, Acroud and Raketech all invested heavily around the tournament, and each stands to see the payoff land in the third and fourth quarters if those players convert.

North America is the clearest battleground, with Better Collective scaling its revenue-share model and Catena Media reshaping its business around a marketplace platform. Raketech is testing its media-led model in Italy, and Acroud is pushing AI-driven efficiency across its network.

Gentoo Media’s refinancing is the single dated event to watch, with its update due by 1 October. Same tournament, same quarter, five different answers to what comes next.

Source: Official company reports.