Hacksaw grew third-quarter revenue by 12% year on year to €58.1m, a marked slowdown from the 31% growth it posted in the second quarter, as a less favourable game mix cut the amount it earned per game round.

The Stockholm-listed slot developer said in its interim report, published on 3 November, that growth was unchanged on a constant-currency basis. Adjusted EBIT rose 15% to €48.3m, lifting the adjusted margin to 83% from 81% a year earlier. Profit for the period increased 18% to €45.7m and operating cash flow climbed 42% to €52.2m.

For the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached €175.0m, up 23% (27% at constant currency), with adjusted EBIT of €144.2m and an unchanged 82% margin. Nine-month profit rose 36% to €136.9m, diluted earnings per share increased to €0.473 from €0.348, and operating cash flow was up 35% at €140.9m.

Third-quarter revenue was slightly below the €59.3m Hacksaw generated in the second quarter, when first-half sales grew 29% to €116.9m. Quarterly diluted earnings per share rose to €0.158 from €0.134.

Adjustments mainly relate to costs connected to the company’s listing, severance for its former group chief executive and bonuses under a new long-term incentive programme.

Volume up, yield down

Game rounds played rose 19% in the quarter, but revenue per game fell year on year. Management described the mix as a temporary headwind that it expects to normalise over the coming months, while cautioning that it may weigh on short-term performance.

The company also flagged the closure of Brazil’s regulated market. The Brazilian government withdrew authorisation from all licensed operators at the end of September and the market shut in early October, which Hacksaw called a departure from the wider move towards locally licensed markets. The Brazilian licences expired as President Lula won re-election, leaving the future of the regulated regime uncertain.

New markets and prediction markets

Hacksaw entered Alberta and the City of Buenos Aires during the quarter. Since the end of September it has expanded with Sazka in the Czech Republic, following its launch on Sazka Hry, with Bally’s Intralot in the UK and with FanDuel in Connecticut.

In October the group unveiled Hacksaw Markets, a business-to-business prediction markets platform backed by an extension of its Malta Gaming Authority licence to cover Type 3 gaming services. Hacksaw said the product was built by its existing team within its current cost base, a point it stressed when it first announced the platform.

Leadership and buyback

Ana Vrabic Verdir, who had been interim group chief executive, was confirmed in the role during the third quarter. She also sits on the board.

“I remain confident in our ability to deliver on our long-term ambitions,” Vrabic Verdir said, adding that the company intends to remain a technology and AI-first business.

The board resolved to launch a share buyback of up to €20m, to run for a maximum of three months. Hacksaw left its long-term financial targets unchanged.

Margins remain exceptionally high for a content supplier, but the slowdown puts the onus on the coming months to show that the mix effect is temporary rather than a sign of maturing demand for its content.

Nevada casinos won $1.283bn from players in September, virtually unchanged from a year earlier, as a modest gain on the Las Vegas Strip offset weaker results downtown and in northern Nevada, according to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Statewide gaming win came to $1,282,542,554, down 0.05% from $1,283,234,042 in September 2025. The state collected $81.12m in percentage fees based on the month’s taxable revenue.

Strip up, downtown down

Strip casinos won $693.47m, a 0.82% increase on the $687.83m recorded a year earlier. For the third quarter as a whole, Strip win reached $2.15bn, up 1.70% year on year.

The rest of southern Nevada was softer. Clark County win fell 0.95% to $1.08bn, while downtown Las Vegas dropped 7.45% to $82.5m.

The downtown decline is notable given the investment that has gone into the Fremont Street corridor in recent years. A fall of more than 7% in a single month can reflect volatile table game hold, but it also points to the pressure on properties that rely on budget-conscious visitors rather than convention and premium leisure traffic.

In the north, Reno win declined 3.5% to $72.9m, while Sparks rose 20.8% to $17.1m, according to coverage of the report by CDC Gaming and News 3 Las Vegas.

The pattern of a small Strip gain set against wider declines has become familiar this year. Strip operators have leaned on events, conventions and premium play to hold revenue steady, while properties further from the Strip have seen more pressure from a slowdown in drive-in and value-focused visitors.

Below expectations

Citizens analyst Jordan Bender said the Strip figure for the quarter was “slightly below our expectations”, reflecting a market that has struggled to build momentum through 2026. Las Vegas began the year with a double-digit fall in Strip win in January and has since posted a run of low single-digit gains rather than a clear recovery.

The flat September comes against a backdrop of softer visitation and reduced air capacity into Las Vegas, which operators have pointed to in recent earnings. MGM Resorts reported a narrower quarterly loss last week, with its Strip business under pressure even as BetMGM contributed cash to the parent company.

What it means for operators

For the large Strip groups, the data reinforces a picture of a mature market in which growth is coming from pricing, events and high-end play rather than broad increases in visitor numbers. Downtown and locals-focused operators, who depend more on regional and value-conscious customers, are showing more strain.

Nevada’s figures also stand in contrast to the online channel elsewhere in the US, where iGaming has continued to grow, albeit at a slowing rate, in states that permit it. Nevada does not allow online casino gaming beyond poker, leaving its land-based market more exposed to swings in tourism.

Investors will be watching for any improvement in the final quarter. The fourth quarter typically benefits from a busy convention calendar and major sporting and entertainment events, and operators have pointed to forward bookings as a sign that demand at the top end of the market remains resilient. Results for the remainder of Clark County, and for the locals market in particular, will show whether the softness seen downtown in September is spreading.

The Gaming Control Board is due to publish October results at the end of November, which will give a first read on the start of the fourth quarter, traditionally supported by the convention calendar and major events on the Strip.

Sweden’s gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has issued an immediate ban against Immortal Snail LLC, the company behind the offshore casino brand duel.com, after finding that the operator continued to target Swedish players without a licence.

The operator holds a licence from Anjouan, one of the autonomous islands of the Comoros, and has no local licence in Sweden or in the other markets where it is active, according to reports by SBC News and iGaming Expert. Industry coverage describes the company as based in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

No IP blocking, Swedish still on offer

Spelinspektionen’s investigation found that IP blocking against Sweden had not been implemented. Players logging in from a Swedish IP address could still select Swedish kronor and the Swedish language, and Swedish-language marketing for the brand was continuing.

The regulator issued the order as an immediate ban under the Swedish Gambling Act, which requires anyone offering gambling to Swedish consumers to hold a local licence.

The operator’s response has drawn attention across the trade press. According to SBC News, the company argued that Swedish is an international language, that it cannot control whether payments are made in kronor, and that it would not stop offering Swedish. It suggested that Sweden itself should be IP-blocked rather than the operator restricting access.

That stance is unusual. Offshore operators named in Swedish ban orders typically say little publicly and quietly restrict access, if they respond at all. An operator openly disputing the regulator’s authority over its Swedish-language offer is a more direct challenge, and one that tests how far a national regulator can go against a company with no assets or staff in its jurisdiction.

Anjouan licences under pressure

The case adds to scrutiny of the Anjouan licensing regime. Last month the Comoros government branded Anjouan gambling licences illegal and asked the UK for help in dealing with them, a move that undercuts the regulatory cover such licences have provided to operators serving grey and black markets.

Duel.com’s founder, Ossi Ketola, previously ran CSGOEmpire, which Spelinspektionen barred from targeting Sweden in November 2023, according to iGaming Expert. The brand’s marketing has also been criticised in industry coverage for its use of adult content creators and provocative influencer campaigns aimed at younger audiences.

Limits of national enforcement

The ban is part of a steady stream of enforcement actions by Spelinspektionen against unlicensed sites, alongside action against licensees such as its decision to revoke Charm Entertainment’s casino licence earlier in October. But the regulator’s tools against an offshore company that openly refuses to comply are limited. A ban order allows Spelinspektionen to pursue payment blocking and to refer breaches for criminal investigation, but the operator has signalled it does not intend to change course.

Sweden’s own licensed market has been under pressure from tighter rules, including bonus restrictions and deposit limits, which licensed operators say have made it harder to compete with unlicensed sites offering larger promotions and fewer checks.

Swedish licensees and their trade body BOS have long argued that channelisation into the licensed market is being eroded by offshore brands that face few practical consequences. Commentators, including SCCG, have said the Duel.com case shows regulators need stronger cross-border coordination and more pressure on advertising platforms to remove such operators’ marketing.

How Spelinspektionen follows up, including whether it moves against payment flows or seeks a criminal referral, will be watched closely by licensed operators in a market where the industry is already pressing the regulator to rethink its priorities.