Playtika Adds to Mobile Gaming’s Bullish Run

For a company offering free games, Playtika is making an impressive amount of money.

The digital entertainment firm known for mobile games Bingo Blitz, World Series of Poker, and Caesar’s Slots released its 2020 earnings report Thursday. 

Revenue grew from $1.9 billion in 2019 to $2.4 billion in 2020. Net income grew to $76 million in the fourth quarter, up from $30 million during the same period the year prior.

Shares rose 17% in its market debut in January. Of the 69.5 million shares sold for $2.16 billion, almost 51 million came from existing shareholders, with the rest from Playtika.

First bought by Caesar’s in 2011, the Israel-based company was acquired by a Chinese consortium for $4.4 billion in cash in 2016. The group includes an affiliate of game developer Giant Interactive Group and a private equity firm set up by Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group.

Mobile gaming has been the source of much success recently.

• Electronic Arts announced it will acquire developer and publisher Glu Mobile in a deal worth $2.1 billion.
• Zynga saw $616 million in fourth-quarter 2020 revenue and $1.97 billion in its full fiscal year. The company projects $2.6 billion in 2021 revenue.

CEO Robert Antokol said that despite the challenges of the past year, his team banded together “to allow Playtika to continue its mission of providing our customers with infinite ways to play.”