FULLTEXT DEL 1 AV 3
Årsredovisning 2023
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CCopen
Annual report
2023
March 20, 2024
Better Collective A/S
Sankt Annæ Plads 28, Copenhagen
www.bettercollective.com
CVR NO.: 27 65 29 13
Better Collective’s esport brand HLTV annually hosts its award show,
paying tribute to and celebrate the CS:GO community.
HLTV is the world’s largest esport community.
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Annual report Page 2
Building Better
Collective
Since the incorporation of Better in 2004,
it has charted a remarkable journey,
evolving from a two -person initiative into a
global group with more than 1,200 talented
employees, 20 international offices, and
nearly 400 million monthly visits across its
portfolio. Throughout the years of rapid
expansion, the group has still managed to
maintain its visionary and entrepreneurial
spirit.
Since the incorporation of Better Collective, our stead-
fast commitment has been to operate the business sus-
tainably. As co-founders, we share the belief that genu-
ine success is derived from creating something we can
truly take pride in. Hence, we made the early decision to
keep our headquarters and company registration in Co-
penhagen, reflecting our dedication to giving back to
the community we call home, while ensuring that taxes
are appropriately paid in all the countries we operate.
The formation of a hig hly experienced and diverse
Board of Directors has been a core focus since the early
days, even preceding our listing on Nasdaq Stockholm
in 2018. We are very pleased with the dual listing in Co-
penhagen, as we are a listed company on our home turf.
Educational initiatives, such as our SEO and SEM acade-
mies, underscore our commitment to informing both our
employees and the local communities we operate
within. These have now become a crucial part of our tal-
ent attraction. Additionally, our emphasis on creating a
secure and equitable work environment is sustained
through DEI initiatives . Today, more than 45 nationali-
ties are represented in Better Collective across 13 coun-
tries. We exclusively collaborate with licensed sports-
book partners in regulated markets, receiving recogni-
tion through numerous iGaming industry awards for our
unwavering commitment to compliance. Our dedication
to safer gambling is ingrained in our core values and we
actively support our partners by providing them with
safer gambling software , a commitment extended
across our own portfolio of sports media brands . Our
longstanding goal is to achieve sustainable growth, en-
abling high profitability while concurrently focusing on
future development. Since our IPO and the initiation of
our M&A strategy, we have sustained high growth with
minimal dilution, seen increasing margins, and growing
earnings per share. We are uniquely positioned to con-
solidate the digital sports media space, and there are a
lot of synergies to harvest in combining strong
authoritative sports media with large viewerships and
Better Collective’s core strengths of optimization, con-
version, and diverse business models. W e are proud to
have retained many talented colleagues and founders
onboard, which is a testament to the trust and excite-
ment surrounding what we are building with Better Col-
lective, the leading digital sports media group.
Jesper Søgaard & Christian Kirk Rasmussen
Co-founders, CEO & COO
Co-founders, Jesper Søgaard (CEO) & Christian Kirk Rasmussen (COO)
at the opening of Better Collective’s new headquarter in Copenhagen.
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Annual report Page 3
Introduction 4
A word to our shareholders 6
Financial highlights and key ratios 10
Strategy 11
Our business segments 18
Business segments review 19
Financial performance 20
Financial targets 22
Corporate governance 23
Corporate governance report 24
Risk management 34
Board of Directors 36
Executive management 40
The BETCO share and shareholders 42
Sustainability 45
Founder statement 46
Reporting framework 48
ESG strategy 50
Sustainability governance 51
Social 52
Governance 57
Environment 58
ESG metrics 59
EU Taxonomy 64
Statements 66
Statement by management 67
Independent Auditors’ Report 68
Group 72
Statement of profit and loss 73
Statement of comprehensive income 73
Balance sheet 74
Statement of changes in equity 75
Cash flow statement 76
Notes 78
Parent company 115
Statement of profit and loss 116
Statement of comprehensive income 116
Balance sheet 117
Statement of changes in equity 118
Cash flow statement 119
Notes 120
Other 136
Alternative Performance Measures and
Definitions 137
April 22, 2024
AGM
May 21, 2024
Interim Financial report Q1
August 21, 2024
Interim Financial report Q2
November 13, 2024
Interim Financial report Q3
Table of contents
Management
Review
Financial
Statements
Financial
calendar
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Annual report Page 4
Introduction
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Annual report Page 5
With a vision to become the lead-
ing digital sports media group,
Better Collective owns and oper-
ates global and national sports
media. We are on a mission to ex-
cite sports fans through engag-
ing content and foster passion-
ate communities worldwide.
Our portfolio of sports media
brands covers more than 30 lan-
guages and attract s 400 million
monthly visit s, while our com-
bined offering s include every-
thing from quality sports con-
tent, communities , data in-
sights, and apps, to video con-
tent, podcasts , and innovative
technology .
Annual report Page 5
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Annual report Page 6
A word to our
shareholders
Becoming the leading digital
sports media group
In 2023, we continued our journey towards realizing our
vision o f becoming the leading digital sports media
group. In doing so we led continuous development and
innovation of our business and acquired seven addi-
tional business es to further our position. We also in-
creased our sports audience significantly from 180 mil-
lion to more than 400 million monthly visits. We initi-
ated the development of our own in -house advertising
technology platform , AdVantage. With this develop-
ment we can c ater to the demand from advertisers
wanting to reach our large audience. We have seen
proof of concept and look forward to scale this during
2024.
Further, t hrough the acquisitions we built out our
knowledge on global display advertising, exclusive con-
tent creation, social media content, while acquiring sev-
eral strong sports media brands. All of which builds on
top of our core competencies of maximizing the value of
large audiences by utilizing our unique skills and diver-
sified business models. Remarkably, all of this was done
while still growing our business organically by 13% and
we have seen great leverage in our operational earnings.
Strong growth in recurring
revenues
Worth highlighting in the 2023 performance is the 50%
growth in recurring revenues reaching 19 1m EUR. This
not only marked 2023 as a record -breaking revenue
year but also distinguished it as the highest-quality per-
formance to date, attributable to the recurring revenue
component. Recurring revenues consist of revenue
share income, subscription revenues, and advertising
revenues. Throughout 2022 and 2023, we successfully
referred over 3 million new depositing customers
(NDCs) on revenue-share agreements which have yet to
start generating revenue. This is more NDCs than we
have delivered since the foundation of the group and up
until 2021 – also coupled with our ongoing transition to
revenue share income in North America. Furthermore,
the demand to connect with our expansive sports audi-
ence has driven the development of AdVantage. Suc-
cess in this endeavor holds promising prospects for rev-
enue derived from advertising sales. Therefore, looking
ahead we anticipate this positive trend to continue ac-
celerated by our unwavering focus.
Diving into our markets
We are currently in the midst of a revenue transition,
shifting towards recurring revenue share income in the
North American market. This strategic change involves
forgoing immediate revenue to establish a more sustain-
able and higher-value proposition for the future, akin to
a license to SaaS transition. In Q1 of 2023, we achieved
our highest quarterly revenue, driven by North America,
especially the launch of sports betting in Ohio. However,
this launch was influenced by CPA (upfront payments),
making it a one-off event in terms of revenue growth.
With our focus on recurring revenue, we anticipate that
future launches, like the upcoming sports betting launch
in North Carolina during Q1, 2024, will have a smaller up-
front impact while still attracting a substantial number
of NDCs. These NDCs are likely to be a combination of
revenue share and CPA, minimizing the short -term im-
pact on revenues while building for the future.
Despite the ongoing North American transition, we take
pride in our organic business growth during 2023, with
2024 serving as another transition year before revenue
share cohorts kick in during 2025.
In Q1, a member of our management relocated to Rio de
Janeiro, assembling a regional team, proving beneficial
with two offices now established in Brazil — Rio de
Janeiro and São Paulo. Stronger efforts in South Amer-
ica have enhanced our capability to integrate Playmaker
Capital’s South American business, "Futbol Sites," with
its massive regional audience and organization in Bue-
nos Aires, positioning us in a market-leading role as Bra-
zilian iGaming regulation approaches.
European markets demonstrated robust growth
throughout the year in both owned and operated sports
brands and media partnerships. We made successful ac-
quisitions of national sports media of which some have
already been seamlessly integrated onto our tech plat-
forms, resulting in improved Google rankings and signif-
icant audience growth, details of which are explored fur-
ther in this report.
Cementing our position in the
Americas
During 2023 we announced the acquisition of Playmaker
Capital, which closed in February 2024 . This strategic
move, with a total consideration of 176 million EUR, ce-
ments our position as a market leader in South America
while reinforcing our North American market presence.
Playmaker Capital aligns seamlessly with our strategy,
offering significant synergies that will bring the upfront
11,7x EV/EBITDA below 5x by 2026, expecting margins
in line with Better Collective's publishing business.
Playmaker Capital's portfolio of digital sports media
brands, garnering over 200 million monthly visits and a
social media following of over 180 million, positions us
to elevate our media capabilities and expand our audi-
ence across the Americas. Futbol Sites, Yardbarker, and
The Nation Network are among the distinguished sports
media brands now under our umbrella, contributing to
our diverse and engaged audience. Coupled with the
content and social media competences acquired
through the acquisition of Playmaker HQ (though similar
in name Playmaker HQ and Playmaker Capital are not
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Annual report Page 7
linked), we increase our presence significantly across
the Americas. We are new to podcasts, however in re-
cent podcast rankings in the US we have taken several
top positions within the “US Sports” -category, and this
has made us more confident in our ability to expand our
presence and diversify our offering.
The acquisition of Playmaker Capital presents a clear
path to operational efficiency, as we will unlock new
monetization opportunities through performance -
based marketing. We extend our sincere appreciation to
the Playmaker Capital team for their outstanding contri-
butions, and we welcome all employees as we are ex-
cited about the collective success that lies ahead.
Following the seven acquisitions during 2023, we de-
cided to go to the market during Q1 of 2024 to raise 10%
of the capital or more than 1 bnDKK. Our focus remains
on consolidation and integration during 2024, however
this has prepared us should any M&A opportunities
arise.
Thanking our
colleagues
Reflecting on the remarkable performance of the past
year fills us with immense pride and gratitude. Our col-
lective efforts at Better Collective have once again
proven that we are a force to be reckoned with in the
industry.
Everything we do is with a sustainable mindset ; we are
headquartered in our home market, pay our taxes ac-
cordingly, solely work with licensed sportsbook partners
in regulated markets, bring efforts to educate our audi-
ences, have a highly professional and experienced
Board of Directors, work with our partners to promote
safer gambling practices, take pride in our SEO and SEM
academies, focus on diversity with more than 45 nation-
alities present across the group and so much more. This
wholesome approach is part of our DNA and has be-
come a competitive advantage for us.
We extend our sincere thanks to every one of our col-
leagues for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering
commitment to excellence. It is your "can-do" attitude
that has propelled us to new heights. Our success is a
testament to the strength of our team, and we are priv-
ileged to lead such an outstanding group of profession-
als. Let us carry this momentum forward into the coming
year, continuing to innovate, collaborate, and achieve
greatness together.
Annual report Page 7
Jens Bager
Chair of the Board
Jesper Søgaard
Co-founder & CEO
Annual report Page 7
Co-founder & CEO Jesper Søgaard & Chair of the Board Jens Bager
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Annual report Page 8
Ohio launched online sports betting, which from a regu-
latory perspective was a perfect state launch. The state
of Massachusetts also regulated online sports betting.
Better Collective signed its first global media partner-
ship with the digital soccer platform Goal, while also
signing with the well- established Polish news portal
Wirtualna Polska and with Nigeria’s leading news media,
PUNCH,
An asset deal for a sports media in an emerging market
for 4.3 mUSD was also signed.
Better Collective’s esport community HLTV hosted the
world’s largest esport award show, watched by more
than 250.000 Counter Strike: Global Offensive fans.
The Board of Directors implemented a new Long Term
Incentive Plan for key employees. The total value of the
2023 LTI grant program is 2.9 mEUR (Black -Scholes
value).
Better Collective acquired Skycon Limited and in doing
so expanded its efforts within digital display advertising.
With the acquisition the financial targets for 2023 were
upgraded.
The UK Government published a “White Paper” as part
of a Gambling Act review. Better Collective welcomed
the long -awaited proposed initiatives with a stronger
focus on safer gambling. Given the proactive compli-
ance measures already taken, the proposed meas ures
were estimated to have zero to limited financial impact
on the Better Collective group.
The Annual General Meeting 2023 was held electroni-
cally on April 25, 2023.
Playmaker HQ was acquired to expand competitiveness
within social media and sports content production. The
total consideration of the acquisition was 54 mUSD with
an upfront payment of 15 mUSD.
The Brazilian sports media platform, Torcedores.com
was acquired, adding the first Brazilian sports media
brand to the group with an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Better Collective also expanded its Swedish position to-
wards the generalist sport fans by acquiring four of the
strongest sports media brands in the market.
Tipsbladet.dk was also acquired for 6.5 mEUR, further
leveraging Better Collective’s position as a key partner
for advertisers in the Danish market.
Britt Boeskov and René Rechtman were elected to the
Board of Directors at an EGM on 8 August. Better Col-
lective also opened the doors to its new headquarters in
Copenhagen.
Better Collective made its second largest acquisition to
date, in a transaction to acquire Playmaker Capital for a
total price consideration of 176 mEUR. Playmaker Capi-
tal is a leading digital sports media group that owns and
operates several strong sports media brands across the
Americas.
In late September, Better Collective announced its in-
tention to carry out a dual listing of the group’s shares
on Nasdaq Copenhagen, in addition to the current listing
on Nasdaq Stockholm. The first day of trading on
Nasdaq Copenhagen was November 17, 2023.
Q1
Watch the Q1 highlights
Q3
Watch the Q3 highlights
Q2
Watch the Q2 highlights
Q4
Watch the Q4 highlights
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Annual report Page 9
Better Collective announced the completion of the Play-
maker Capital acquisition, making it the second -largest
acquisition to date.
Better Collective raised 10% or 1,081.9 mDKK in an accel-
erated book building process to prepare for future M&A.
The demand in the placing was substantial and with BLS
Capital Fondsmæglerselskab A/S as an anchor taking
50% of the deal making it possible to place all shares
without a discount to the market price.
Better Collective announced a new major shareholder as
BLS Capital Fondsmæglerselskab A/S now has 11 .7% of
the voting rights.
Also, Better Collective is now included in the Nasdaq
Stockholm and Nasdaq Copenhagen Large Cap Index
with companies that have a market cap higher than 1
bnEUR.
Q1 will see the launch of sports betting in North Carolina
which expectedly will be a great opportunity given the
size of the state. Being CPA-based (upfront payments),
last year ’s Ohio and Massachusetts launches were
strong revenue drivers for Better Collective. The upcom-
ing launch of North Carolina will be a mix of CPA and
revenue share, meaning that the impact here and now
will be smaller, but will help building for the future. This
means the comparisons on a year-over-year basis will
be somewhat tough. There are high expectations for Q2
and Q3 due to the European Championship. Historically,
most of Better Collective’s share databases were sent in
Europe, and these are expected to perform well to-
gether with a high revenue share NDC intake. Copa
America also takes place during Q2 and Q3, which pre-
viously has not been a big event for the group. This time,
Better Collective owns some of the strongest sports me-
dia in the region . However, with little experience from
Copa America expectations remain conservative. Lastly,
Q4 is the high season for most sports and the compari-
son will be normalized on a year over year basis.
Annual report Page 9
2024
what to expect
Events after
the close of 2023
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Annual report Page 10
Financial highlights and key ratios
tEUR 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
Income statements
Revenue 326,686 269,297 177,051 91,186 67,449
Recurring revenue 191,118 127,573 79,879 59,889 49,806
Revenue Growth (%) 21% 52% 94% 35% 67%
Organic Revenue Growth (%) 13% 34% 29% 8% 26%
Operating profit before depreciation, amortization,
and special items (EBITDA before special items) 111,080 85,075 55,775 38,152 28,061
Operating profit before depreciation
and amortization (EBITDA) 109,132 85,021 39,030 38,272 27,446
Depreciation 3,958 2,321 1,764 1,548 831
Operating profit before amortization
and special items (EBITA before special items) 107,122 82,754 54,011 36,604 27,231
Special items, net - 1,948 - 54 - 16,746 120 - 615
Operating profit before amortization (EBITA) 105,174 82,700 37,265 36,724 26,616
Amortization and impairment 24,283 12,347 8,516 6,235 5,413
Operating profit before special items
(EBIT before special items) 82,839 70,407 45,495 30,369 21,817
Operating profit (EBIT) 80,891 70,353 28,749 30,489 21,202
Result of financial items - 22,881 - 5,389 - 2,522 - 1,778 - 2,448
Profit before tax 58,010 64,964 26,227 28,712 18,755
Profit after tax 39,835 48,075 17,292 21,927 13,944
Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.74 0.88 0.34 0.47 0.32
Diluted earnings per share (in EUR) 0.70 0.85 0.33 0.45 0.31
tEUR 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
Balance sheet
Balance Sheet Total 937,862 785,229 597,379 315,065 229,601
Equity 435,273 412,917 344,848 162,542 138,317
Current assets 105,812 95,025 62,898 48,555 36,035
Current liabilities 103,493 65,068 55,452 26,312 22,088
Net interest bearing debt 221,133 177,879 95,290 51,030 - 2,918
Cashflow
Cash flow from operations before special items 119,384 69,816 51,204 38,321 26,585
Cash flow from operations 114,639 68,423 45,207 37,696 25,481
Investments in tangible assets - 5,143 - 1,788 -285 - 460 - 955
Cash flow from investment activities - 106,248 - 112,632 - 219,219 - 68,090 - 49,509
Cash flow from financing activities 29,334 65,737 188,759 46,790 36,365
Financial ratios
Operating profit before depreciation,
amortization (EBITDA) and special items margin (%) 34% 32% 32% 42% 42%
Operating profit before amortization margin (EBITDA) (%) 33% 32% 22% 42% 41%
Operating profit margin (%) 25% 26% 16% 33% 31%
Publishing segment
- EBITDA before special items margin (%) 37% 38% 43% 48% 43%
Paid media segment
- EBITDA before special items margin (%) 29% 16% 8% 16% 18%
Net interest bearing debt / EBITDA before special items 1.99 2.09 1.71 1.34 -0.10
Liquidity ratio 1.02 1.46 1.13 1.85 1.63
Equity to assets ratio (%) 46% 53% 58% 52% 60%
Cash conversion rate before special items (%) 103% 80% 92% 99% 91%
Average number of full-time employees 1,252 878 635 420 364
NDCs (thousand) 1,916 1,683 858 635 432
For definitions of terminology, please refer to the section on page 137.
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Strategy
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Annual report Page 12
Paving the way
towards becoming the
leading digital sports
media group
Better Collective is a strong global group of interna-
tional and national sports media brands , and the group
has experienced rapid expansion since 2018 and the IPO
on Nasdaq Stockholm. Since then, t he group has suc-
cessfully positioned its brands as trusted destinations
for sports fans across the world, and in 2023 further ex-
panded its reach to more than 400 million monthly vis-
its. Developing a global network of interconnected
brands with a large and loyal audience builds the foun-
dation for future growth. At Better Collective we are de-
termined to keep expanding and maximizing the value
of our brand portfolio organically as well as non-organ-
ically. Better Collective’s strategy is built on six core pil-
lars:
• Growing global sports audience organically and
through M&A
• Expanding in new and emerging markets
• Maximizing the value of large audiences through a
diversified business model
• Partnering with leading media houses worldwide
• Leveraging global benefits of scale
• Continuously invest in new technologies
We believe in the benefits of scale when creating a
global sports media group , including scale benefits in
content generation and distribution, best -in-class com-
mercial agreements, audience analytics, talent attrac-
tion and retention and innovation.
Adding to the pillars, the group also has a few distinct
focus areas. Better Collective has built a strong common
technology platform centered around search engine op-
timization (SEO) and conversion rate optimization
(CRO), enabling the group to not only continuously
grow its global audience organically , but also creat ing
unparalleled value for its many global partners. Better
Collective excels at maximizing the value of its large
global audience and optimizing revenue generation
through a diversified set of business models. Since 2018,
M&A has been a core pillar of the strategy and has
brought significant value and scale to the group
throughout the last six years. In 2023, Better Collective
completed no less than seven acquisitions , equating to
a total of 34 acquisitions since 2018.
With the acquisition of Playmaker Capital, Better Collec-
tive significantly expanded its footprint in South Amer-
ica, and now owns leading national sports media brands
in all key markets in the region. M&A fits exceptionally
well into the strategy as there are immediate synergies
to harvest once becoming part of the Better Collective
group, such as audience growth, revenue diversification,
cost optimization, and much more.
With the expansion into the wider digital sports media
industry, a stronger emphasis is now on audience en-
gagement and retention. The group will continue to in-
vest, diversify, strengthen , and develop its content of-
ferings across its portfolio to attract and engage a
broader variety of sports fans worldwide. With the foun-
dation of its large global portfolio, Better Collective is
also in the midst of building and refining its own in-
house AdTech platform, AdVantage. AdVantage will al-
low the group to serve valuable, engaging, and contex-
tual advertising campaigns across its global brand port-
folio. Through its large audience and in combination
with more direct, in -house, advertising campaigns, the
group expects to yield significantly higher CPM rates
across its brands.
In conclusion, Better Collective has achieved remarkable
global growth in the past years, and now reaches an au-
dience of more than 400 million monthly visits. The stra-
tegic pillars of organic and M&A-driven expansion, mar-
ket and revenue diversification, strategic partnerships,
and technological in novations have been key contribu-
tors to this success. The most recent addition to the
strategic flywheel is the launch of AdVantage, which will
strengthen the group extensively.
Steadfast execution of this strategy is what will set Bet-
ter Collective even further apart from competition and
enable the realization of the vision to become the lead-
ing digital sports media group.
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Annual report Page 13
Tech deep dives
AdVantage
In early 2023, Better Collective announced its ambition
to develop its own in -house advertising platform and
branded it AdVantage. The development of an in-house
AdTech platform has been an ambition for a long time
and is the natural next step in Better Collective’s journey
towards becoming the leading digital sports media
group.
With the depreciation of third-party cookies as a tool to
target ads to audiences across digital channels, compa-
nies monetizing through digital marketing activities are
to a significant degree becoming more reliant on zero -
and first-party data from owned and operated media to
serve contextual and targeted ads to their audiences.
Better Collective has prepared for this transition for a
long time. Since 2020, Better Collective has acquired
numerous leading sports brands with loyal returning au-
diences, expanding its reach from 7 million monthly vis-
its in 2018 to currently more than 400 million.
Given Better Collective’s niche focus on sports and
strong zero- and first-party data on its owned and oper-
ated sports brands, the company can provide targeted
and contextual advertising to niche audiences which ad-
vertisers are willing to pay a premium for. This leaves
Better Collective in a unique position given there are
many advertising inventory companies and many
AdTech companies, but only very few that combine the
two without a reliance on 3rd parties. Notably, advertis-
ing sales and performance market ing aka affiliation
include minimal cannibalization. The conversion of play-
ers, referred to as New Depositing Customers (NDCs),
through branded display advertising is limited, indicat-
ing a highly synergistic and effective collaboration be-
tween the two.
While various third-party platforms exist, there are mul-
tiple reasons cementing the need for creating an in -
house platform. AdVantage will allow Better Collective
to increase CPM rates by utilizing the monetization wa-
terfall as depicted on the next page.
Direct display. The summit of the waterfall represents
the highest CPM rates, achieved through direct display
advertising. Better Collective will consolidate its inven-
tory real-estate into one Better Collective ad network.
Direct ads are negotiated via a mutual agreement be-
tween Better Collective and the advertiser. Involving ne-
gotiations on various aspects, such as pricing, the num-
ber of ads to be showcased, the specific display loca-
tions, and the duration of the ad campaign. These agree-
ments can be forged with both indi vidual advertisers
and agencies acting on behalf of advertisers. The ad
placement will be automated while the selling will be
more manually handled.
Furthermore, Better Collective has also developed Fan-
Reach which enables advertisers to connect their CRM
(first party data) with the group’s tech stack to run high
value reactivation campaigns. CPMs are usually 8 -20
USD, according to market statistics.
Programmatic Direct. Descending the waterfall, we en-
counter programmatic advertising, a method enabling
Better Collective to operate on a larger scale by lever-
aging AdVantage to auction available ad space. Pro-
grammatic ads offer greater flexibility compared to di-
rect ads, allo wing advertisers to display varied ads to
different readers. This type of customization is based on
individual user data, encompassing behavior, prefer-
ences, location, and demographic information.
Such targeted precision empowers advertisers to show-
case the most relevant ads to specific readers at optimal
times and locations. Campaigns are agreed directly as a
private marketplace deal (PMP) between Better Collec-
tive and a limited group of advertisers. Campaigns are
subsequently delivered via a connection between ad-
vertiser platform and publisher platform. Programmatic
CPMs are usually 3- 8 USD, according to market statis-
tics.
Supply side platform (SSP) . At the bottom of the wa-
terfall is the open supply side platform (SSP) auction.
This is where otherwise unfilled inventory is put to real-
time-bidding (RTB) for a last chance of monetization of
every session. This is where all demand -selling-plat-
forms (DSP), as well as ad networks, and agencies bid
What is an
AdTech platform?
An AdTech platform is a technology plat-
form designed to streamline, automate, and
optimize the advertising process. AdTech
platforms use advanced technologies such
as advanced data analytics and machine
learning algorithms that analyze user behav-
ior to enhance the efficiency and effective-
ness of advertising campaigns, while provid-
ing valuable and engaging advertising, tar-
geting specific user needs.
What is AdVantage?
AdVantage is an owned and operated tech
infrastructure to orchestrate Better Collec-
tive’s global media network with advertising
capabilities.
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Annual report Page 14
and compete for the remaining inventory. CPMs are usu-
ally 0-2 USD, according to market statistics.
Selling everything directly is not possible, making it cru-
cial to maximize the full waterfall. Presently, Better Col-
lective employs third -party agencies to monetize audi-
ences, primarily on its esport brands; FUTBIN and HLTV.
These agencies take the advertising inventory to a DSP,
aiming to optimize for the highest CPM rate. Throughout
this process, the agency naturally takes a percentage of
the deal and so does the DSP, also referred to as the
“AdTech Tax”. The advertisers on the other side share
their CPMs with agencies, SSP s and other middlemen.
Considering the involvement of the various intermediar-
ies, Better Collective estimates that its esport brands
yield an average CPM rate significantly below 1 USD.
Given the robustness of the brands and the sought-after
audience they attract, there should be substantial up-
side if AdVantage becomes a success.
When Playmaker Capital was acquired, Better Collective
also got access to their AdTech platform called Bench.
This will complement what has already been built as
there is significant scale available across their network.
Furthermore, Playmaker Capital has also gone through
the process of implementing Bench across all its brands,
and the efforts within Programmatic Direct and SPP
bring valuable experience and know-how to this part of
the integration. Playmaker Capital can deliver cam-
paigns at scale via the platform given they have over-
sight of all their impressions etc.
The most prominent opportunities with the successful
development of AdVantage includes but are not limited
to:
• Utilizing the full Better Collective brand network.
Scaling advertising sales to all Better Collective
sport brands.
• Including media partnerships . Ideally also scaling
AdVantage in Media Partnerships, which would sig-
nificantly increase the audience further, positioning
Better Collective as the #1 monetization partner for
sports media.
• Waterfall monetization . Utilizing the full monetiza-
tion waterfall brings in higher CPM rates.
• Creating competition for inventory bidding . Op-
timizing demand partners in the low end of the wa-
terfall making it possible to sell more inventory and
at higher CPM rates.
• Optimiz ing or removing middle man. Better Col-
lective has been highly acquisitive; hence the com-
pany has accumulated several third-party AdTech
platforms. With AdVantage , Better Collective will
either optimize or rid itself of many of the middle-
men, as it will use its own AdTech platform.
Utilizing zero- and first-party data
Under the hood of AdVantage, Better Collective has de-
veloped several technologies that provide much value
for advertisers. These include:
FanReach operates as a customer data platform (CDP)
alongside with AdVantage, as one of the main pillars of
Better Collective’s AdTech , serving as a unified system
that gathers and organizes data to establish a unique
user ID for each visitor on Better Collective's brands.
This facilitates audience segmentation for marketing
and personalization. In the future, advertisers with zero-
and first-party data will have the capability to integrate
their CRM system with FanReach, and consequently, Ad-
Vantage. This integration will allow Better Collective to
identify when a user that is within the targeting audi-
ence of an advertiser is visiting a BC website or mobile
app, enabling the display of highly targeted and contex-
tual advertising. This feature holds significant value for
advertisers, resulting in a correspondingly high CPM
rate.
===== SIDA 15 =====
Annual report Page 15
BetSense stands as a multifaceted advertising solution
inside the BC AdTech ecosystem, alongside AdVantage.
Leveraging sports data, smart facts, offers, tips, live and
odds, our advertisements are customizable with compo-
nents tailored to advertisers’ requirements, seamlessly
fitting into the context of the surrounding content. As
an example, if you are reading an article about a Man-
chester United transfer, then the BetSense ad will auto-
matically showcase up to date Manchester United -re-
lated odds, relevant brand products, or similar.
This curated suite of ad integration and style formats is
focused on engaging the audience, adapting as users
navigate through content for maximum exposure while
grabbing attention and stimulating engagement. With
live integration of inbuilt data and sports feeds, Bet-
Sense ensures users receive the latest live information.
As a market leader, BetSense excels in contextualizing
in-content, data -rich formats activated when users
hover. Additionally, the intuitive nature of BetSense,
fueled by our first-party data, enables us to deliver the
optimal creative based on user intent and timing.
What is the status of AdVantage?
During 2023, we absorbed the project investments in
building our internal AdTech platform, “AdVantage”,
while already having secured proof of concept. The plat-
form's development was fueled by demand, as numer-
ous brands sought to engage our audience. The initial
AdVantage campaigns have already been executed
across our portfolio of sports media brands as well as
media partnerships in eight markets.
As we enter 2024, our focus shifts to scaling larger cam-
paigns, with a potential emphasis on the European
Championships. Currently, the BetSense product is be-
ing delivered via AdVantage on our owned and oper-
ated sports brands as well as media partnerships. Fur-
ther, this has been implemented to now run with one
large tier one customer.
Where do we want to go?
As we prepare for the widespread launch of AdVantage,
we anticipate that this strategic technological leap will
not only enhance our advertising capabilities, enabling
global campaign expansion and ensuring high -quality
brand activations but also sustain the substantial mo-
mentum gained in recent months.
Looking ahead, the overarching objective with Ad-
Vantage is to be the preferred partner for advertisers
seeking exposure to sports audiences and engagement
with sports enthusiasts. The integration of AdVantage
into Better Collective reflects our commitment to re-
maining at the forefront of technological innovation, en-
suring unparalleled engagement and value for both our
partners and audiences. This big step forward goes be-
yond just using technology; it is about creating the fu-
ture of digital sports media.
===== SIDA 16 =====
Annual report Page 16
The Better Collective
technology platform
What is a tech nology platform? A tech platform serves
as a foundation for building and running software appli-
cations, providing the necessary tools, infrastructure,
and services for developers to create and deploy their
solutions.
Why is such a tool important for Better Collective? A
centralized tech platform provides operational, strate-
gic, and competitive advantages for a digital sports me-
dia group by ensuring consistency, efficiency, scalabil-
ity, and the ability to adapt in persistently evolving mar-
ket conditions.
Better Collective has a unique position with its cutting -
edge technology platform, a robust and versatile infra-
structure designed to enhance user experiences, opti-
mize content delivery, centralize advertising place-
ments, and ensure regulatory compliance across its
global portfolio. The platform provides many capabili-
ties as outlined below, which ensures significant impact.
Most often when Better Collective acquires new brand s
these are onboarded to the group’s technology plat-
form, which optimizes the performance of the acquired
brand, increases the audiences, improves rankings in
search engines , creates opportunities for scale, c uts
costs, all while staying compliant. L ooking into the dif-
ferent segments here is an overview of what the tech
platform provides:
1. Search engine optimization (SEO). The Better Col-
lective technology platform places a strong empha-
sis on SEO, aiming to boost the group’s brands
across their digital presence. Through meticulous
optimization strategies embedded in the platform
and expertise developed over the past 20 years, the
group achieves increased visibility in search results
for strategically chosen value -driving keywords.
This not only improves organic traffic but also en-
sures that the audience finds relevant content
seamlessly.
2. Product analytics. The platform integrates robust
product analytics tools, focusing on Conversion
Rate Optimization (CRO) and benchmarking Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs). This data-driven ap-
proach empowers Better Collective to refine its of-
ferings, enhance user engagement , and strategi-
cally align with market demands.
3. Technology stack. Better Collective's technology
platform boasts a state-of-the-art technology stack
and a comprehensive toolbox. This empowers de-
velopment teams to minimize integration time, of-
ten completing projects within a three -month time
frame. The platform's agility is a testament to its
commitment to staying at the forefront of techno-
logical advancements.
4. Regulatory compliance. Ensuring compliance with
local regulations is paramount in the sports media
and betting industry. The Better Collective technol-
ogy platform places a strong emphasis on meeting
regulatory standards across all sites, markets and
countries - not only foster ing legal adherence but
also building trust with users in diverse global mar-
kets.
5. Cloud hosting. The platform leverages cloud host-
ing to provide central, secure, and optimized infra-
structure for global and regional content delivery.
This not only enhances performance but also en-
sures that users worldwide can access Better Col-
lective's content with speed and reliability.
6. Advertising platform. Better Collective is currently
refining AdVantage, delivering an impressive 5 bil-
lion yearly addressable impressions across the
global brand network. This is achieved through Ad-
vantage, Fan Reach, and BetSense, creating exten-
sive opportunities for brand exposure and revenue
generation.
Annual report Page 16
===== SIDA 17 =====
Annual report Page 17
7. AI automation. The technology platform incorpo-
rates an AI backbone, supporting optimal multi-
channel content generation, which not only en-
hances efficiency but also ensures that the content
is dynamic, personalized, and resonates effectively
across various channels, languages, cultures, and
formats.
8. Channel reach. Better Collective recognizes the im-
portance of diverse channel reach. The platform en-
ables multi- channel and multi -format content de-
livery, spanning web, app, and social media. Such a
comprehensive approach ensures that content
reaches audiences wherever they are, fostering a
truly immersive and engaging sporting experience.
9. Central content management. A centralized con-
tent management system is one of the corner-
stones of the platform, allowing Better Collective to
leverage generated content across all channels ,
globally. In doing so workflows are streamlined
while ensuring consistency and quality in the con-
tent presented to the users.
10. Brand strategy fit. The platform toolbox is a key
enabler for implementing Better Collective's brand
strategy. By providing a diverse set of tools and ca-
pabilities, the platform supports the strategic im-
plementation of any brand in the group’s extensive
portfolio, fostering brand consistency and reso-
nance.
In conclusion, Better Collective's t echnology platform
underlines the group's commitment to technological ex-
cellence, user -centric experiences, and global market
leadership. The integration of SEO, analytics, compli-
ance, cloud hosting, advertising, AI, and a versatile tech-
nology stack positions the platform becomes a compre-
hensive solution for navigating the complexities of the
digital sports media landscape.
Execution done right
Better Collective hosted its first ever Capital Markets
Day in late March of 2023, during which the group pre-
sented a case example in its brand: Soccernews. When
Soccernews was acquired, it had an audience of around
10 million monthly visits and mostly generated revenue
from advertising sales. 12 months after the acquisition
and the integration of Soccernews onto Better Collec-
tive’s tech platform, the audience had doubled to 20
million monthly visits, and the revenue had five doubled.
Since th en, the direct audience traffic has increased
quite a lot, the CPM rates have increased further, while
we have been building a new app which will be launched
during 2024. We have also partnered with ex -profes-
sional soccer p layer, Anouk Hoogendijk, to boost our
video content creation, having already interview ed
many players such as Jaap Stam.
In 2023, Better Collective acquired the Brazilian sports
media, Torcedores, to strengthen its position in the local
market. Following the acquisition, Better Collective
promptly integrated Torcedores onto its tech platform,
leading to noticeable improvements within just a few
months, including:
• Enhanced site performance. The integration signif-
icantly improved the performance of Torcedores'
website, ensuring a smoother and more efficient
user experience.
• Improved search engine rankings . Better Collec-
tive's tech platform implementation resulted in im-
proved rankings on search engines, making
Torcedores' content more discoverable and acces-
sible.
• +170% audience growth . The audience experi-
enced a remarkable growth of 170% post imple-
mentation, indicating a substantial increase in user
engagement and reach.
• Increased content production . The tech platform
facilitated an increase in content production, allow-
ing Torcedores to deliver more diverse and engag-
ing content to its audience.
• Uptick in future revenue generation. The improve-
ments led to a significant uptick in future revenue
generation, attracting numerous New Depositing
Customers (NDCs) and expanding the platform's fi-
nancial prospects.
• Social media following surge. Following a 50% in-
crease in social media (SoMe) content production,
Torcedores witnessed a substantial increase in its
social media following, strengthening its online
community.
• Reducing costs. The integration onto Better Collec-
tive's tech platform resulted in a 35% reduction in
Torcedores' monthly operational costs, demon-
strating increased efficiency and resource optimi-
zation.
Overall, the successful integration onto the Tech Plat-
form showcased tangible benefits, ranging from en-
hanced site performance and audience growth to im-
proved revenue generation and operational cost sav-
ings. This use case exemplifies how Better Collective's
Tech Platform can bring about positive transformations
and drive success for acquired sports media entities.
===== SIDA 18 =====
Annual report Page 18
Our business segments
Contributes
73%
of the group’s EBITDA
before special items
Publishing
The Publishing business includes revenue
from Better Collective’s proprietary own and
operated sports media platforms as well as
media partnerships. The audience for this seg-
ment is mostly attracted direct or through or-
ganic search results
North
America
contributes
28%
of the group’s EBITDA
before special items
Europe & ROW
The Europe & Rest of the world (ROW) business in-
cludes all markets outside of North America. The
European markets consist of a blend of mature leg-
acy markets and markets like South America which
is a strong growth market . The segment further in-
cludes the esport communities HLTV and FUTBIN.
Given the strong legacy in the European markets
there is a lot of recurring revenue in this part of the
business.
Europe & RoW
contributes
72%
of the group’s EBITDA
before special items
Contributes
27%
of the group’s EBITDA
before special items
Paid Media
The Paid Media business includes revenue ef-
forts in paid advertising on search platforms like
Google and Bing, as well as advertising on third
party sports media. Given the upfront payment
to advertise on third party platforms the gross
margin is lower than in the Publishing business.
North America
Both the US and the Canadian markets are some-
what recently regulated. The first states in the US
started regulating in 2018. As both markets are
young, revenues largely have been generated from
one-time payments (CPA). During Q3 2022, Better
Collective sta rted its transition towards recuring
revenues in the US.
===== SIDA 19 =====
Annual report Page 19
Business
segments review
Historically, Better Collective has reported
on the geographical segments Europe &
ROW (Rest of the World) and the US.
During 2023 , this segmentation wa s
altered, and the geographical business
segmentation has since been between
Europe & Rest of the World and North
America.
Better Collective operates two different
business models regarding customer
acquisition both with different earnings
profiles distinguished between t he group’s
Publishing and the Paid Media business es.
Thus, r eporting includes measuring and
disclosing separately for Revenue, Cost
and Earnings. All historical financial figures
are reported accordingly.
Publishing
Revenue of 220 mEUR grew 18%, of which 15 % was or-
ganic. Publishing accounted for 67% of the group’s total
revenue in 2023. Additionally, the cost grew to 1 40
mEUR resulting in EBITDA before special items of 81
mEUR, a growth of 13% with an EBITDA-margin of 37%.
Better Collective continued to see very strong perfor-
mance from this business area that on the one hand in-
cludes media partnerships with authoritative news out-
lets like The Daily Telegraph , the New York Post and
Goal.com and on the other hand in owned and operated
sports brands like Betarades, Soccernews, and many
other local heroes.
Paid Media
Revenue was 106 mEUR which equals growth of 29% of
which 13% was organic , hence growth came from own
operations as well as a successful acquisition of Skycon
Limited. Since acquiring the Atemi group in 2020, the
group’s focus has been to heavily invest in developing
the Paid Media business. The decision to move NDCs
from pure CPA to revenue share contracts or hybrid rev-
enue models (mix of CPA and revenue share) has re-
sulted in a continued increase in revenue from revenue
share income.
Due to the extensive topline growth and scaling oppor-
tunities the Paid Media business delivered an EBITDA
before special items of 30 mEUR growing 127% (on top
of growing 112% in 2022) with an EBITDA margin of 29%
(versus 16% last year). Paid Media delivered 3 3% of the
Group’s revenue in 2023, and 27% of EBITDA.
Europe & Rest of the World
Revenue was 218 mEUR in 2023 , which is a growth of
29% of which 17% was organic. The growth was mainly
driven by good underlying performance in most mar-
kets, while media partnerships and South America con-
tinued to be the main drivers of the performance. The
EBITDA ended at 80 mEUR implying a margin before
special items of 3 7%. Europe & ROW delivered 6 7% of
the group’s revenue and 72 % of EBITDA before special
items. The Europe & ROW market is most sensitive to
fluctuations in the sports win margin as this segment op-
erates most of the revenue share accounts.
North America
Overall, the North American business delivered a solid
performance with revenue of 109 mEUR implying
growth of 9% of which 5% was organic. EBITDA before
special items was flat at 31 mEUR and the EBITDA-mar-
gin was 28 %. North America delivered 3 3% of the
group’s revenue, and 28 % of EBITDA. The transition
from CPA to recurring revenue share income continues
to impact the short-term performance while building fu-
ture sustainable revenue.
Annual report Page 19
===== SIDA 20 =====
Annual report Page 20
Financial
performance
Revenue growth of 21% to 327
mEUR and organic growth of
13%
Revenue showed strong growth versus 2022 of 21% and
amounted to 327 mEUR (2022: 269 mEUR). Revenue
share accounted for 50% of the revenue with 32% com-
ing from CPA, 5% from subscription sales, and 13% from
other income.
Cost of 216 mEUR - up from 184
mEUR
The increase in costs is primarily driven by personnel
costs increasing 20 mEUR corresponding to an increase
of 17%. The increase is driven by an increase in average
number of employees increasing from average 878 in
2022 to 1,252 in 2023. Direct costs related to media
partnerships and Paid Media increased as well, however
in line with overall growth in revenue. The cost base ex-
cluding depreciation and amortization grew 32 mEUR,
up to 216 mEUR (2022: 184 mEUR).
Total direct cost relating to revenue increased by 7
mEUR to 99 mEUR (2022: 92 mEUR) with the growth
coming from increased cost in Paid Media , and direct
costs related to media partnerships. Beyond the cost of
paid traffic, this includes hosting fees of websites, con-
tent generation, and external development.
Personnel cost increased 31% from 2022 to 8 9 mEUR
2023 (2022: 69 mEUR). The average number of employ-
ees increased 43% to 1,252 (2022: 878). Personnel costs
include costs related to warrants of 3 mEUR (2022: 2
mEUR).
Other external costs increased 4 mEUR or 1 7% to 27
mEUR (2022: 23 mEUR). Depreciation and amortization
amounted to 28 mEUR (2022: 15 mEUR). The increase is
primarily due to amortization related to the acquisition
of FUTBIN , and the acquisitions during 2023 Skycon,
Playmaker HQ, Digital Sportmedia I Norden AB ( Sven-
skaFans.com, Hockeysverige.se, Fotbolldirekt.se and
Innebandymagazinet.se), Goalmedia Technologia E
Marketing Digital (Torcedores) and Tipsbladet as well as
new media partnerships.
Special items
Special items amounted to an expense of 2 mEUR (2022:
54 tEUR). The net expense of 2 mEUR is primarily related
to M&A expenses of 10 mEUR, dual listing in Copenha-
gen of 1 mEUR and restructuring of 1 mEUR as well as an
income related to reversal of an earn -out of 10 mEUR.
The earn-out was related to certain extraordinarily high-
performance criteria that will not be met.
Earnings
Operational earnings (EBITDA) before special items
grew 31% to 111 mEUR (2022: 85 mEUR). The EBITDA-
margin before special items was 34 % (2022: 32 %). In-
cluding special items, the reported EBITDA was 109
mEUR. (2022: 85 mEUR).
EBIT before special items increased 19 % to 8 3 mEUR
(2022: 70 mEUR). Including special items, the reported
EBIT was 81 mEUR (2022: 70 mEUR).
Net financial items
Net financial costs amounted to 2 3 mEUR (2022: 5
mEUR) and included net interest, fees relating to bank
credit lines , unrealized losses on shares and exchange
rate adjustments. Interest expenses amounted to 13
mEUR and included non-payable, calculated interest ex-
penses on certain balance sheet items . Out of the net
interest 11 mEUR is paid.
Net financial costs are impacted by an unrealized loss of
8 mEUR on Catena Media shares and financing fees of 1
mEUR whereas net exchange rate loss amounted to 1
mEUR.
Income tax
Better Collective has a tax presence in the places where
the company is incorporated. These places count Den-
mark (where the parent company is incorporated),
Austria, France, Greece, Malta, Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, UK, Canada , Brazil,
and the US. Income tax amounted to 18 mEUR (2022: 17
mEUR). The Effective Tax Rate (ETR) was 31 % (2022:
26%).
Net profit
Net profit after tax was 40 mEUR (2022: 48 mEUR).
Earnings per share (EPS) de creased by nearly 16 % to
0.74 EUR/share versus 0.88 EUR/share 2022.
Equity
The equity increased to 435 mEUR as per December 31,
2023, from 413 mEUR on December 31, 2022. Besides the
net profit of 40 mEUR, the equity has been impacted by
the acquisition of treasury shares of 13 mEUR and share-
based payments of 3 mEUR. The decrease in USD versus
EUR has impacted the equity by 8 mEUR.
Balance sheet
Total assets amounted to 938 mEUR (2022: 785 mEUR),
with an equity of 435 mEUR (2022: 413 mEUR). This cor-
responds to an equity to assets ratio of 4 6% (2022:
53%). The liquidity ratio was 1. 02 resulting from current
assets of 106 mEUR and current liabilities of 104 mEUR.
The ratio of net interest-bearing debt to EBITDA before
special items was 1.99 at the end of December.
===== SIDA 21 =====
Annual report Page 21
Investments
On 14 April, Better Collective acquired Skycon for a pur-
chase price of up to 51 mEUR (45 mGBP) on a cash and
debt free basis. The net cash flow impact of the transac-
tion was 30 mEUR considering deferred payments and
acquired net assets.
On July 3, 2023, Better Collective US, Inc. completed the
acquisition of Playmaker HQ for up to 51 mEUR (54
mUSD) with an initial consideration of 14 mEUR (15
mUSD) on a cash and debt-free basis.
On August 15, 2023, Better Collective announced the ac-
quisition of four brands SvenskaFans.com, Hockeysve-
rige.se, Fotbolldirekt.se and Innebandymagazinet.se
from Everysport Group to further expand its position
within the Swedish sports media ecosystem for a total
consideration of 4 mEUR on a cash and debt-free basis.
On September 4, 2023, Better Collective announced the
acquisition of Torcedores.com, by acquiring Goalmedia
Technologia E Marketing Digital S.A.
On September 18, 2023, Better Collective announced the
acquisition of Tipsbladet.dk ApS to further expand its
position in Denmark for a total consideration of 7 mEUR
on a cash and debt -free basis with closing 2 October
2023. During the period investments in accounts and
other intangible assets amounted to 8 mEUR.
Cash flow and financing
Cash flow from operations before special items was 11 9
mEUR (2022: 70 mEUR) with a cash conversion of 103%.
In August Better Collective extended the bank-financing
by three years to October 2026 as well as executing the
accordion option and thereby increasing the available
facilities with 72 mEUR, leaving the group with a total
financing of 319 mEUR where 247 mEUR has been uti-
lized by the end of December. By the end of 2023, capi-
tal reserves stood at 122 mEUR of which cash of 43
mEUR, and other current fina ncial assets of 7 mEUR in
form of listed shares and unused credit facilities of 72
mEUR.
The parent company
Better Collective A/S, is the parent company of the
group. Revenue grew by 5 2% to 99 mEUR (2022: 65
mEUR). Total costs including depreciation and amorti-
zation was 9 4 mEUR (2022: 61 mEUR). Profit after tax
was 39 mEUR (2022: 47 mEUR). The change in profit af-
ter tax is primarily due to differences in dividend pay-
ments from subsidiaries, exchange rate adjustments, fi-
nancial expenses, and corporate tax. Total equity ended
at 443 mEUR by December 31, 2023 (2022: 411 mEUR).
The equity in the parent company was im pacted by
treasury share transactions (13 mEUR), cost of warrants
of 3 mEUR and HLTV merger (3 mEUR).
Annual report Page 21
===== SIDA 22 =====
Annual report Page 22
Financial targets
2023
The Board of Directors decided on targets for the finan-
cial year 2023 as announced in the 2022 full year report.
Following the acquisition of Skycon Limited and the rec-
ord-breaking Q1, the financial targets were upgraded
with 15 mEUR on revenues and 5 mEUR on EBITDA. Fol-
lowing a very strong H1, the targets were raised again by
10 mEUR on both revenue and EBTIDA.
• Revenue of 315-325 mEUR; Exceeded at 327
mEUR
• EBITDA before special items of 105-115 mEUR; In
the high end of range at 111 mEUR
• Net debt to EBITDA before special items <2.0; Met
2024
The Board of Directors has decided on financial targets
for the Better Collective group for the year 2024:
• Revenue of 390 -420 mEUR, implying 1 9-29%
growth.
• EBITDA of 125-135 mEUR implying 13-22% growth.
• Net/debt to EBITDA stay below 3x.
2024 implications
The targets factor in an eleven -month impact from the
Playmaker Capital acquisition with the deal clos ing on
February 6. The acquisition is expected to ramp up over
time with expected flat revenue and earnings for 2024.
More factors are c ontinued investment in developing
the AdTech platform, several AI -projects and scaling
commercial development. Further the continued North
American recurring revenue share transition to invest in
future sustainable growth coupled with high expecta-
tions for the men’s European Championship this sum-
mer.
2023- 2027
The long -term 2023 -2027 financial targets have been
updated following the acquisition of Playmaker Capital.
• Revenue CAGR of +20% (unchanged)
• EBITDA margin before special items of 35-40%
(previously 30-40%).
• Net debt to EBITDA before special items of <3 (un-
changed).
2023-2027 implications
The long-term targets include M&A funded by own cash
flow and debt, and not capital increases. With Play-
maker Capital, Better Collective utilized cash, debt,
treasury shares and a small capital increase, resulting in
a minimal dilution of 3%. Hence , a large part of the ac-
quisition was already included in the guidance , making
the group more comfortable in its ability to reach these.
Given the opportunity to move revenue from advertis-
ing to performance marketing and the increased profit-
ability therein the margin target is upgraded, narrowing
it toward the high end. Given the nature of performance
marketing and the change in cash flow, the margin up-
tick will happen after 12-24 months.
Disclaimer
This report contains certain forward-looking statements
and opinions. Forward-looking statements are state-
ments that do not relate to historical facts and events.
Such statements or opinions pertaining to the future, for
example wording like; “believes”, “deems”, “estimates”,
“anticipates”, “aims’, and “forecasts” or similar expres-
sions are intended to identify a statement as forward -
looking. This applies to statements and opinions con-
cerning the future financial returns, plans and expecta-
tions with respect to the business and management of
the group, future growth , profitability, general eco-
nomic and regulatory environment , and other matters
affecting Better Collective. Forward-looking statements
are based on current estimates and assumptions made
according to the best of the group’s knowledge. These
statements are inherently associated with both known
and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that
could cause the results, including the group’s cash flow,
financial condition, and operations, to differ materially
from the results, or fail to meet expectations expressl y
or implicitly, assumed or described in those statements
or to turn out to be less favorable than the results ex-
pressly or implicitly assumed or described in those
statements. Better Collective can give no assurance re-
garding the future accuracy of the opinions set forth
herein or as to the actual occurrence of any predicted
developments and/or targets. Considering the risks, un-
certainties and assumptions associated with forward -
looking statements, it is possible that certain future
events may not occur.
Moreover, forward -looking estimates derived from
third-party studies may prove to be inaccurate. Actual
results, performance or events may differ materially
from those in such statements e.g. due to changes in
general economic conditions, in particular economic
conditions in the markets in which the group operates,
changes affecting interest rate levels, changes affecting
currency exchange rates, changes in competition levels,
changes in laws and regulations, and occurrence of ac-
cidents or environmental dam ages and systematic de-
livery failures. We undertake no obligation to update or
revise any forward -looking statements, whether be-
cause of new information, future events or otherwise,
except to the extent required by law.
===== SIDA 23 =====
Annual report Page 23
Annual report Page 23
Corporate
governance
===== SIDA 24 =====
Annual report Page 24
Corporate governance
report
Better Collective A/S is a Danish public lim-
ited liability company and is governed by
the provisions of the Danish Companies
Act. The registered office and headquarter
is situated in Copenhagen, Denmark. Better
Collective has been listed on Nasdaq
Stockholm since June 8, 2018 , and on
Nasdaq Copenhagen since November 17,
2023.
Corporate governance
framework
The purpose of corporate governance is to ensure that
a company is run sustainably, responsibly, and as effi-
ciently as possible. In Better Collective, good corporate
governance is about earning the confidence of share-
holders, business partners, and legislators by creating
transparency in decision -making and business pro-
cesses. A well -defined and stru ctured distribution of
roles and areas of responsibilities between sharehold-
ers, the Board, and the management secures efficiency
at all levels. Particularly, it allows the management team
to focus on business development and thereby the cre-
ation of shareh older value. The B oard of D irectors
serves as a highly qualified dialogue partner for the
management team supporting the outlined growth
strategy, securing a tight risk management setup, and
optimal capital structure. The group’s corporate govern-
ance is based on applicable Danish legislation and other
external rules and instructions, including the Danish
Companies Act, Nasdaq Stockholm’s Rulebook, Nasdaq
Copenhagen Rulebook, the Swedish Securities Council’s
good practices in the stock market, the Swedish Code of
Corporate Governance and Better Collective’s guide-
lines, which include the Articles of Association, various
policies, and other guidelines.
Following the dual listing on Nasdaq Stockholm and
Nasdaq Copenhagen Better Collective has resolved that
it will comply with the Swedish Code instead of the Dan-
ish Recommendations on Corporate Governance . The
main corporate laws and rules on governance relevant
for shareholders in a Danish public limited liability com-
pany that is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, and complying
with the Code, are largely materially similar to the cor-
responding Swedish rules that would apply for a Swe-
dish public limited liability company under the same cir-
cumstances.
Cross-listing and corporate governance
Better Collective is a Danish limited liability company
and accordingly follows the rules, regulations, and
guidelines as described above. As a dual listed company
on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Copenhagen, Better
Collective is required each year to provid e an overview
of the main differences between the Swedish Code and
the Danish Recommendations.
Shareholder engagement
Election of Chair of the annual general meeting
The Code stipulates the Chair of the annual general
meeting shall be appointed by the Nomination Commit-
tee. In a Danish context, the Board of Directors will usu-
ally appoint a C hair of the general meeting , and this is
not regulated in the Recommendations.
Minutes of the annual general meeting
The Code recommends that a shareholder who is inde-
pendent from the company and its Board of Directors is
appointed to verify and sign the minutes of general
meetings. Such practice does not exist in Denmark and
the minutes are approved and signed by the Chair of the
general meeting in accordance with Danish Company
Law.
Policies
Pursuant to the Recommendations, listed companies are
to adopt certain policies and procedures, such as poli-
cies regarding communication and investor relations, a
tax policy as well as contingency procedures in case of
a public takeover of the company. Such recommenda-
tions are not included in the Code. However, Better Col-
lective has adopted an information policy which governs
both internal and external communications, including in
relation to investors.
Procedures and tasks of the Board of Directors
Participation in daily management
Pursuant to the Recommendations, any participation by
a member of the Board of Directors in the daily manage-
ment of Better Collective must be approved by the
Board and publicly disclosed. No equivalent recommen-
dation is a part of the Code. However, none of the mem-
bers of the B oard of D irectors currently participate in
the daily management of Better Collective.
Board composition and Board Committees
Independence of Board members
The Code distinguishes between B oard members’ inde-
pendence from Better Collective and its executive man-
agement and independence from the group ´s major
shareholders in two separate recommendations. Inde-
pendence in relation to major shareholders is not a part
of the Recommendations. However, to be considered in-
dependent a Board member should not be a representa-
tive of or be associated with a controlling shareholder.
Chair of the Board
The Code stipulates that the Chair of the Board shall be
elected by the general meeting. This is not the case in a
Danish context. Further, the specific tasks of the C hair
are more detailed in the Code. However, Danish practice
is in line with the tasks and responsibilities of the Code.
The Recommendations stipulate that a deputy C hair
shall be elected, which is not included in the Code.
===== SIDA 25 =====
Annual report Page 25
Board Committees
Both the Code and the Recommendations stipulate that
a company should have an A udit Committee, a Remu-
neration Committee, and a Nomination Committee. The
main difference between the Code and the Recommen-
dations is that pursuant to the Code, a Nomination Com-
mittee is not a Board Committee but instead consists of
members elected directly by the shareholders. Whereas
pursuant to the Recommendations , the Nomination
Committee is a Board Committee elected by and among
members of the B oard of D irectors. The tasks of the
Nomination Committee in a Swedish context are also
more comprehensive than the tasks of the N omination
Committee in a Danish context.
The Company follows the Swedish practice pursuant to
the Code, and accordingly the Nomination Committee
consist of shareholder elected Committee members and
the tasks carried out are in line with the Recommenda-
tions of the Code.
Management remuneration
The Recommendations contain provisions relating to
management remuneration criteria, B oard compensa-
tion as well as incentive programs.
The Code does not include equivalent recommendations
as the Swedish Corporate Governance Board has issued
the separate “Rules on Remuneration of the Board of Di-
rectors and Executive Management and on Incentive
Programs” (the “Remuneration Rules”). The Remunera-
tion Rules came into force on 1 January 2021 and contain
extensive provisions on remuneration to the Board of
Directors, executive management, and incentive pro-
grams. However, the Remuneration Rules only apply to
Swedish companies whose shares are admitted to trad-
ing on a Swedish-regulated market (and to some extent
companies whose shares are traded on other trading
platforms) and are therefore not formally applicable to
Better Collective.
The share and shareholders
Better Collective A/S was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm
on June 8, 2018. As of November 17, 2023, Better Collec-
tive is dual listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen . The number
of shares outstanding on December 31, 202 3, was
55,367,418. Each share entitles the holder to one vote.
The number of shareholders on December 31, 2023, was
4,821 which is a n increase from the 3, 669 shareholders
on December 31, 2022.
The largest shareholders on December 31, 202 3, were
Chr. Dam Holding and J. Søgaard Holding (the C o-
founders of Better Collective) with 10,671,179 shares
each and each representing 19.27% of the votes and
share capital in the company. Further information on the
Better Collective share and shareholders is available in
the section Share and shareholders on page 4 2 as well
as on the group’s website.
General meeting
Pursuant to the Danish Companies Act, the general
meeting is the group’s superior decision-making body.
The general meeting may resolve every issue for Better
Collective which does not specifically fall within the
scope of the exclusive powers of another corporate
body. F or example, the power to appoint executive
management, which falls within the scope of the Board
of Directors in limited liability companies that are man-
aged by a Board of Directors.
At the general meeting, the shareholders exercise their
voting right on key issues, such as amendments of the
Better Collective’s Articles of Association, approval of
the annual report, appropriation of the group’s profit or
loss (including distribution of any dividends), resolu-
tions to discharge the members of the B oard of D irec-
tors and the executive management from liability, the
appointment and removal of members of the B oard of
Directors and auditors and remuneration for the B oard
of Directors and auditors. Other matters transacted at
the meeting may include matters that according to the
Articles of A ssociation or the Danish Companies Act,
must be submitted to the general meeting.
Time and place
The annual general meeting must be held at a date that
allows sufficient time to send the Danish Business Au-
thority a copy of the audited and adopted annual report
within four months of the end of the financial year. In
Better Collective complies
with the Swedish Code of
Corporate Governance with
the following exceptions
As stipulated in Better Collective ’s Articles
of Association, the Board of Directors ap-
point the meeting Chair for the AGM instead
of letting the Nomination Committee pro-
pose a meeting Chair. The Articles also stip-
ulate that the meeting Chair approves the
AGM minutes instead of letting an A GM par-
ticipant that is not a member of the Board or
an employee of the company approve the
minutes of the meeting.
The respective reports on corporate govern-
ance and sustainability do not include a part
of the auditor ’s report covering the specific
reports, as these subjects are not individu-
ally addressed in the auditor ’s report. These
deviations are due to differences between
Danish and Swedish laws and practices.
===== SIDA 26 =====
Annual report Page 26
addition to the annual general meeting, extraordinary
general meetings may be convened and held when re-
quired. According to Better Collective A rticles of Asso-
ciation, general meetings must be held in Greater Co-
penhagen, Gothenburg, or Stockholm.
Notice
According to Better Collective’s Articles of Association,
general meetings must be convened by the Board of Di-
rectors giving written notice no earlier than five weeks
and no later than three weeks prior to the general meet-
ing. Pursuant to the Danish Companies Act, notices con-
vening general meetings shall be made public on the
group’s corporate website. If requested, shareholders
shall receive written notice of the general meetings.
Extraordinary general meetings must be held upon re-
quest from the Board of Directors, or the auditor elected
by the general meeting. In addition, shareholders that
individually or collectively hold ten percent or more of
the share capital can make a written request to the
Board of Directors that an extraordinary general meet-
ing be held to resolve a specific matter. Such extraordi-
nary general meetings must be convened within two
weeks of the Board of Directors’ receipt of a request to
that effect.
The notice to convene a general meeting must be made
in the form and substance for public limited liability
companies admitted to trading on a regulated market as
stipulated in the Danish Companies Act. The notice must
also specify the time and place of the general meeting
and contain the agenda of the business to be addressed
at the general meeting. If an amendment of the group’s
Articles of Association is to be resolved at a general
meeting, the complete proposal must be included in the
notice. For certai n material amendments, the specific
wording must be set out in the notice. As regards the
annual general meeting, the Company must announce
the date for the meeting as well as the deadline for any
shareholder proposals no later than eight weeks before
the scheduled date for the annual general meeting.
Right to attend general meetings
A shareholder’s right to attend a general meeting and to
vote on their shares is determined based on the shares
held by the shareholder at the date of registration. The
date of registration is one week before the general
meeting is held. The holding of each individual share-
holder is based on the number of shares held by that
shareholder as registered in the group’s share register
maintained by Euroclear Sweden as well as any notifica-
tions of ownership received by Better Collective for the
purpose of
registration in the share register, but not yet registered.
To attend the general meeting, a shareholder must, in
addition to the above-mentioned, also notify Better Col-
lective of attendance no later than three days prior to
the date of the general meeting, as stipulated by Better
Collective’s Articles of A ssociation. Shareholders may
attend general meetings in person, through a proxy or
by postal vote, and may be accompanied by an advisor.
All attending shareholders are entitled to speak at gen-
eral meetings.
===== SIDA 27 =====
Annual report Page 27
Voting rights & shareholders initiatives
Each share entitles the holder to one vote. All matters
addressed at the general meeting must be decided by a
simple majority vote, unless otherwise stipulated by the
Danish Companies Act or Better Collective’s Articles of
Association. A resolution to amend the Articles of Asso-
ciation requires that no less than two thirds of the votes
cast as well as the share capital represented at the gen-
eral meeting vote in favor of the resolution, unless a
larger majority is required by the Danish Companies Act
(for example resolutions to reduce shareholder rights to
receive dividends or to restrict the transferability of the
shares) or the group’s Articles of A ssociation. Share-
holders who wish to have a specific matter brought be-
fore the general meeting must submit a written request
to the group’s Board of Directors no later than six weeks
prior to the general meeting. If the request is received
less than six weeks before the date of the general meet-
ing, the Board of Directors must decide whether the re-
quest has been made with enough time for the issues to
be included on the agenda.
General meetings in 2023
The annual general meeting 202 3 was held on April 2 5,
2023, and approved the 2022 annual report, discharged
the Board and executive management, and re -elected
six out of six Board members, elected a Vice Chair of the
Board, and re -elected the current auditor. The share-
holders further approved the proposals from the B oard
of Directors to authorize the Board of Directors to in-
crease the group’s share capital without pre -emption
rights for the existing shareholders and to authorize the
BBoard of D irectors to acquire treasury shares. The
shareholders adopted the remuneration report based on
an advisory vote.
On August 8, 2023, an extraordinary general meeting
was held during which shareholders approved the pro-
posals from the Nomination Committee regarding the
election of Britt Boeskov and René Rechtman as the new
members of the Board of Directors. During the meeting
the shareholders were informed that the Board member
Klaud Holse wished to resign as a member of the Board
of Directors with effect as of the extraordinary general
meeting.
Electronic general meetings
The Board of Directors is authorized to decide that gen-
eral meetings are held as a completely electronic gen-
eral meeting without physical attendance or partially
electronic meetings.
Annual general meeting 2024
The annual general meeting 2024 will take place on April
22, 2024, at 2.00 p.m. For more information, please see
the section on the annual general meeting on the Better
Collective’s corporate website.
Nomination Committee
According to the Code, the group must have a Nomina-
tion Committee, the duties of which must include the
preparation and drafting of proposals regarding the
election of members of the Board of Directors, the Chair
of the Board of Directors, the Chair of the general meet-
ing and auditors. In addition, the Nomination Committee
shall propose fees for B oard Members and the auditor.
The group’s Articles of Association hold instructions and
rules of procedure for the N omination Committee ac-
cording to which the N omination Committee is to have
at least three members representing the three largest
shareholders per the end of August, together with the
Chair of the Board of Directors. The names of the mem-
bers of the N omination Committee must be published
by Better Collective no later than six months prior to the
annual general meeting.
On August 31, 202 3, the two largest shareholders were
Chr. Dam Holding and J. Søgaard Holding which are
grouped. In accordance with shareholders’ decision, the
Nomination Committee was appointed and is composed
by four members in total:
• Søren Jørgensen, Chair, appointed by Chr. Dam
Holding and J. Søgaard Holding
• Martin Jonasson, appointed by Andra AP-Fonden,
also representing Tredje AP-Fonden
• Michael Knutsson, appointed by Knutsson Holding
AB
• Jens Bager, Chair of the Board of Directors, Better
Collective
In all, the N omination Committee represented 49.5% of
the total number of shares in Better Collective, based on
ownership data as per August 31, 2023.
Independence of Nomination Committee
The Code requires the majority of the Nomination Com-
mittee’s members to be independent in relation to the
group and its management and that at least one of these
shall also be independent in relation to the group’s larg-
est shareholder in terms of voting power. All members
are independent in relation to Better Collective and the
group’s management and all members except for Søren
Jørgensen are independent in relation to major share-
holders.
Nomination Committee meeting with
Board members
Each year, the Nomination Committee conducts individ-
ual interviews with the Board members leading up to the
AGM as a supplement to the board self -evaluation re-
sults. Similarly, any new Board candidates meet with the
Nomination Committee.
Meetings of the Nomination Committee
Ahead of the AGM 2024, the Nomination Committee has
held three meetings. One member was not present dur-
ing the third meeting. No fees have been paid for work
on the Committee.
===== SIDA 28 =====
Annual report Page 28
Board of Directors
After the general meeting, the B oard of Directors is the
most superior decision -making body of the group . The
duties of the B oard are set forth in the Danish Compa-
nies Act, the group’s Articles of A ssociation, the Code
and the written rules of procedure adopted by the Board
of Directors, which are revised annually. The rules of
procedure regulate, inter alia, the practice of the B oard
of Directors, tasks, decision -making within the group,
the Board of Directors’ meeting agenda, the Chair’s du-
ties, and allocation of responsibilities between the Board
of Directors and the executive management. Rules of
procedure for the executive management, including in-
struction for financial reporting to the B oard of D irec-
tors, are also adopted by the Board of Directors.
The Board meets according to a predetermined annual
schedule. At least five ordinary Board meetings must be
held between each annual general meeting. In addition
to these meetings, extraordinary meetings can be con-
vened for processing matters which cannot be referred
to any of the or dinary meetings. In 202 3, 10 m eetings
were held.
Composition of the Board
The members of the B oard of Directors are elected an-
nually at the annual general meeting for the period until
the end of the next annual general meeting. According
to the group’s Articles of A ssociation, the B oard of D i-
rectors shall consist of no less than three and no more
than seven Board members. Furthermore, the Code stip-
ulates that no deputy members may be appointed. Cur-
rently, the Board of Directors is composed of seven or-
dinary Board members elected by the general meeting:
Jens Bager (Chair), Todd Dunlap, Therese Hillman (Vice
Chair), Britt Boeskov, René Rechtman Leif Nørgaard,
and Petra von Rohr. The Board attended Nasdaq’s stock
market training course prior to the listing in 2018. Todd
Dunlap and Britt Boeskov received Nasdaq training after
joining the B oard. For information about the B oard
members see page 36.
Evaluation of Board performance
The Board of Directors regularly evaluates its work
through a structured process. The Chair is responsible
for carrying out the evaluation and presenting the re-
sults to the Nomination Committee. In 2023, an external
management consultancy assessed the Board’s work,
including the collaboration with the executive manage-
ment. The assessment was based on a questionnaire.
Every other year, the questionnaire is combined with
personal interviews with each board and executive man-
agement member. The evaluation was presented to and
discussed by the B oard and subsequently the Nomina-
tion Committee. In addition, the Nomination Committee
conducted individual interviews with the B oard mem-
bers leading up to the AGM. The overall conclusion was
that the Board’s performance and efficiency is found to
be satisfactory and that the B oard has a well- balanced
mix of competencies.
===== SIDA 29 =====
Annual report Page 29
Diversity
The Board composition must be set with appropriate-
ness to the group’s operations, phase of development,
and must collectively exhibit diversity regarding gender,
age, nationality, experience, professional background,
and business expertise. In 2023, the Board had an equal
gender distribution and met the group’s policy on addi-
tional diversity criteria based on age, nationality, and
educational background.
Gender distribution in management, cf. §99b
Better Collective has set a target for the Board of Direc-
tors of 40% of the underrepresented gender. The Board
is made up of three women (43%) and four men ( 57%)
whereby the split exceeds the 40% in a Board consisting
of seven members. This is considered an equal gender
distribution by the Danish Business Authority. It is man-
agement’s view that the Board composition meets our
policy on additional diversity criteria based on age, na-
tionality, and educational background.
For the other management levels across Better Collec-
tive, the gender split in 2023 was 15% women and 85%
men. This is an increase from 2022 (12% women and 88%
men.) In the 2023 reporting, other management levels
include the executive management and their direct re-
ports, whereas in the 2022 reporting the other manage-
ment level was included in the top management per-
centage.
Although new members of the other management level
joined Better Collective in 2023 the target of un-
derrepresented gender was not reached. Better Collec-
tive recognizes that gender distribution at the other
management level is unsatisfactory. We will continue
the work to increase the share of the underrepresented
gender at all management levels through new initiatives
to ensure that both genders are represented in recruit-
ment at the interview stage and similarly that gender is
considered in succession planning. The Board has set a
target for the other management levels of 25% to con-
sist of the underrepresented gender by 2027.
Gender diversity top management
In 2023 Better Collective achieved gender equality in
the top management level. Therefore, no new targets
have been set. In contrast, in the 2022 annual report,
Better Collective disclosed that the combined percent-
age of underrepresented genders in both top manage-
ment and other levels of management amounted to 12%.
Gender diversity other management levels
Other management levels include the executive man-
agement and their direct report s, (executive manage-
ment and SVP/VP) which equals 13 members in total. To
improve the percentage of the underrepresented gen-
der in the other management level, the company has in-
cluded a representative of both gender s in the recruit-
ment processes and will continue to do so in order to
reach the target of 25 % by 2027.
.
Other Managerial positions (1 and 2) 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Total number of members 13
Underrepresented gender in pct. 15%
Target figure in pct. 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%
Year for fulfilment of target figure 2027 2027 2027 2027 2027
Top managerial position (Board of Directors) 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Total number of members 7
Underrepresented gender in pct. 43%
Target figure in pct. 40% - - - -
Year for fulfilment of target figure - - - - -
===== SIDA 30 =====
Annual report Page 30
Board Committees
The Board of Directors has established two committees:
the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
The Board of D irectors has adopted rules of procedure
for both committees.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee consists of Leif Nørgaard ( Chair),
Therese Hillman, and Petra von Rohr. The Audit Commit-
tee’s role is mainly to monitor the group’s financial po-
sition, to monitor the effectiveness of the group’s inter-
nal control and risk management, to be informed about
the audit of the annual report and the consolidated fi-
nancial statements, to monitor the quality of the exter-
nal audit, to review and monitor the auditor’s impartial-
ity and independence and to monitor the group’s com-
pliance with law and regulations related to financial
matters. The Audit Committee has an annual work plan
and has held five meetings in 2023.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee consists of Jens Bager
(Chair), Todd Dunlap, and Britt Boeskov, who has re-
placed Klaus Holse. The Remuneration Committee’s role
is primarily to prepare matters regarding remuneration
and other terms of employment for the executive man-
agement and other key employees. The R emuneration
Committee shall also monitor and evaluate ongoing and
completed programs for variable remuneration to the
group’s management and monitor and evaluate the im-
plementation of the guidelines for remuneration to the
executive management which the annual general meet-
ing has adopted. The R emuneration Committee has an
annual work plan and has held three meetings in 2023.
Executive management
According to the Danish Companies Act and Better Col-
lective’s Articles of A ssociation, the Board of D irectors
appoints and removes the members of the executive
management. The executive management is responsible
for the day-to-day management of the group. Currently,
the executive management consists of Jesper Søgaard
as CEO, Flemming Pedersen as CFO and Christian Kirk
Rasmussen as COO. The members of the executive man-
agement are presented in further detail on page 40.
The duties and responsibilities of the executive manage-
ment are governed by the Danish Companies Act, Better
Collective’s Articles of A ssociation, the rules of proce-
dures for the executive management adopted by the
Board of D irectors, other instructions given by the
Board as well as other applicable laws and regulations.
The executive management’s duties and responsibilities
include, inter alia, ensuring that the group maintains ad-
equate accounting records and procedures, that the
Board of D irectors’ resolutions are implemented in the
daily management of the group, that the Board of Direc-
tors are up to date on all matters of importance to the
group and that the day -to-day management of the
group is carried out.
Attendance at Board and Committee meetings
Name Board Meetings Audit Committee Remuneration Committee
Jens Bager (Chair) ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ - ◆ ◆ ◆
Therese Hillman (Vice
chair) ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ -
Todd Dunlap ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ - ◆ ◆ ◆
Klaus Holse ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Petra von Rohr ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ -
Leif Nørgaard ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ -
Britt Boeskov ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
René Rechtman ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Attendance Non-attendance
===== SIDA 31 =====
Annual report Page 31
Remuneration to the Board of
Directors and the executive
management
Remuneration to the Board of Directors
Fees and other remuneration to Board members elected
by the general meeting are resolved at the annual gen-
eral meeting. At the annual general meeting held on
April 25, 2023, it was resolved that a fee of EUR 135,000
is to be paid to the C hair and 90,000 EUR to the vice
chair and that fees of EUR 45 ,000 is to be paid to each
of the other B oard members. Work in a Board commit-
tee is remunerated with EUR 13,500 for a chair position
and EUR 6,750 for a regular member In 2021 , one-third
of the Board of Directors’ fixed annual remuneration was
paid out in shares in the group . Following approval at
the Annual General Meeting on April 25, 2023, the Board
fee in 2023 was paid in cash and an amendment to the
remuneration policy means that payment in shares is no
longer part of the policy.
For the financial year 202 3, the Board of D irectors re-
ceived remuneration as set out in note 5 on page 85. For
additional details, see also the remuneration report for
2023 available from bettercollective.com.
Remuneration to executive management
Remuneration to the executive management consists of
basic salary, variable remuneration, pension benefits,
share-related incentive programs and other benefits.
For the financial year 202 3, the executive management
received remuneration as set out in note 5 on page 85.
Remuneration policy
The current remuneration policy was adopted at the an-
nual general meeting on April 2 5, 2023, in compliance
with section 139 and 139a in the Danish Companies Act
Members of Better Collective’s Board of Directors and
executive management receive a fixed annual remuner-
ation. In addition, members of the executive manage-
ment may receive incentive- based remuneration con-
sisting of share-based rights. Finally, members of the ex-
ecutive management may receive incen tive-based re-
muneration consisting of a cash bonus (including cash
bonuses based on development in the share price), on
both an ongoing, single-based, and event-based basis.
Cash bonus schemes for executive management may
consist of an annual bonus, which the individual member
of the executive management can receive if specific tar-
gets of the group and other possible personal targets for
Name and position
Holdings
at beginning
of year
Bought
during
the year
Sold
during
the year
Holdings
at end of
the year
Market
value*
tEUR
Jesper Søgaard, CEO 10,671,179 0 0 10,671,179 247,275
Flemming Pedersen, CFO 311,966 0 0 311,966 7,229
Christian Kirk Rasmussen, COO 10,671,179 0 0 10,671,179 247,275
Executive management, total 21,654,324 0 0 21,654,324 501,778
Name and position
Holdings
at beginning
of year
Bought
during
the year
Sold
during
the year
Holdings
at end of
the year
Market
value*
tEUR
Jens Bager, Chair 1,001,229 0 0 1,001,229 23,201
Therese Hillman, Vice Chair 1,375 0 0 1,375 32
Todd Dunlap, member 475 0 0 475 11
Klaus Holse, member 171,059 0 0 171,059 3,964
Leif Nørgaard, member 440,656 6,644 0 447,300 10,365
Petra von Rohr, member 22,037 0 0 22,037 511
René Efraim Rechtman, member 0 11,000 0 11,000 255
Britt Ingrid Boeskov, member 0 13,027 0 13,027 302
Board of directors, total 1,636,831 30,671 0 1,667,502 38,640
Total 23,291,155 30,671 0 23,321,826 540,418
* The end-of-year market values are based on the official share prices prevailing December 31, 2023.
===== SIDA 32 =====
Annual report Page 32
the relevant year are met. The maximum cash bonus
shall be equivalent to 100 percent of the fixed base sal-
ary of each eligible participant of the executive manage-
ment. Payment of a bonus is only relevant when condi-
tions and targets have been fully or partly met (as de-
termined by the B oard of Directors). If no targets are
met, no bonus is paid out. Targets for the executive
management shall be agreed upon by the B oard of D i-
rectors and the executive management. The general
meeting will decide whether to establish a long-term in-
centive program (LTI program).
Internal controls
The Board of Directors has the overall responsibility for
the internal control of the group . The main purpose of
the internal control is to ensure that the Better Collec-
tive’s strategies and objectives can be implemented
within the business, that there are effective systems for
monitoring and control of the group’s business and the
risks associated with the group and its business, and to
ensure that the financial reporting has been prepared in
accordance with applicable laws, accounting standards
and other requirements imposed on listed companies.
The Board of D irector’s responsibility for the in ternal
control and financial reporting is governed by the Dan-
ish Financial Statements Act, the Danish Companies Act
and the Code. In addition, the Board of Directors has im-
plemented an internal control framework based on the
COSO standard, which focuses on the five areas: control
environment, risk assessment, control activities, infor-
mation as well as communication and monitoring.
Control environment
To create and maintain a functioning control environ-
ment, the Board of Directors has adopted several steer-
ing documents and policies, including rules of procedure
for the B oard of D irectors, the Board Committees and
the executive management with instruction for financial
reporting to the Board of Directors. The policies include
a tax policy, treasury policy, IT policy, information pol-
icy, insider policy, instruction for insider lists and a Code
of Conduct. Better Collective also has a group account-
ing manua l which contains principles, guidelines, and
processes for accounting and financial reporting.
The division of roles and responsibilities within the rules
of procedure for the B oard of Directors and the execu-
tive management aim to facilitate an effective manage-
ment of Better Collective’s risks. The Board of Directors
has also established an A udit Committee whose main
task is to monitor the effectiveness of the group’s inter-
nal control, internal audit, and risk management, to be
informed about the audit of the annual report and con-
solidated financial statements, and to review and moni-
tor the auditor’s impartiality and independence. The
Board evaluates the need for an internal audit function
annually. In 2023, given the size of the company, it was
decided that an internal audit function is not currently
needed.
Better Collective applies an internal “signing & ap-
proval” framework to ensure a clear and formalized dis-
tribution and limitation of power, and to define and gov-
ern guidelines for the delegation of authority to sign on
behalf of the group . The group has furthermore estab-
lished an IT governance structure to ensure that all ma-
jor IT projects support Better Collective’s business goals,
and that existing IT systems and resources are used op-
timally. The group has implemented a whistle -blower
scheme providing the ability to easily and anonymously
report any observations of potentially destructive, un-
ethical, or illegal activities related to Better Collective.
Risk assessment
Risk assessment includes identifying risks pertaining to
the group’s business, assets and financial reporting as
well as assessing the impact and probability of those
risks, to ensure that actions to reduce or eliminate risks
are analyzed and implemented. Within the B oard of Di-
rectors, the Audit Committee is responsible for continu-
ously assessing the group’s risks.
Annually, the executive management must prepare an
internal risk management assessment which is reported
to the Audit Committee and subsequently to the B oard
of Directors. The risk management assessment shall in-
clude a follow-up on previous year’s work and a review
of any changes to procedures, control systems and risk-
mitigating actions.
With regards to financial reporting, the CFO and the fi-
nance department annually prepares a report for the
Audit Committee, including a review of items subject to
special risks and significant accounting estimates and
judgements, allowing the A udit Committee to monitor
the financial reporting process. The A udit Committee
also evaluates the need for an internal audit function an-
nually and makes recommendations to the B oard of Di-
rectors.
Control activities
Control activities are performed for the purpose of pre-
venting, detecting, and correcting any errors and irreg-
ularities, including fraud. Control activities are imple-
mented in the group’s systems and procedures, includ-
ing financial reporting systems and procedures. Control
activities include, for example, physical and electronic
preventive access controls concerning sensitive and
confidential information, preventive IT based controls
limiting access to systems, joint approval procedures for
electronic bank transfers and detective controls. Finan-
cial control activities are performed in accordance with
the group accounting manual and are carried out
monthly and are documented.
Information and communication
Internal communication to employees occurs, inter alia,
through policies, instructions, and blog posts, including
a Code of Conduct which serves as an overall guiding
principle for employees in all communication, an
===== SIDA 33 =====
Annual report Page 33
information policy which governs internal and external
information as well as an insider policy , which ensures
appropriate handling of insider information that has not
yet been disclosed to the public. Additionally, the
group’s CEO holds the overall responsibility for the han-
dling of matters regarding insider information.
The group’s investor relations function is led and super-
vised by the CFO and the Senior Director of Investor Re-
lations. The principal tasks of the investor relations func-
tion are to support matters relating to the capital market
as well as to assist in preparing financial reports, general
meetings, capital market presentations and other regu-
lar reporting regarding investor relations activities.
Monitoring
Compliance and effectiveness of internal controls are
continuously monitored. The executive management
ensures that the Board of Directors receives continuous
reports on the development of the group’s activities, in-
cluding the group’s financial results and position, and in-
formation about important events, such as key con-
tracts. The executive management also reports on such
matters at each board meeting.
The Board of Directors and the Audit Committee exam-
ines the annual report and the interim reports and con-
ducts financial evaluations based on established busi-
ness plans. The Audit Committee reviews any changes
in accounting policies to determine the appropriateness
of the accounting policies and financial disclosure prac-
tices. Furthermore, the Audit Committee also reviews
the consistency of accounting policies across the group
on a yearly basis.
The efficiency of the key controls is evaluated at regular
intervals and reported to the Board of Directors summa-
rizing the performed evaluations and accounting for any
deviations that must be managed.
External audit
The group’s auditor is appointed by the annual general
meeting for the period until the end of the next annual
general meeting. The auditor audits the financial state-
ments prepared by the Board of Directors and the exec-
utive management. Following each financial year, the
auditor shall submit an audit report to the annual gen-
eral meeting. The group’s auditor reports its observa-
tions from the audit and its assessment of the group’s
internal control to the Board of Directors.
At the annual general meeting held on April 25, 2023, EY
Godkendt Revisionspartnerselskab was re -elected as
the group’s auditor with Jan C. Olsen as the lead auditor.
It was also resolved that the fees to the auditor should
be paid in accordance with normal charging standards
and approved invoice. The total fee paid to the group’s
auditor for the financial year 202 3 amounted to 581
tEUR, all of which regarded the audit assignment.
Annual report Page 33
===== SIDA 34 =====
Annual report Page 34
Risk management
Better Collective’s management monitors
and accesses risk development in the
Better Collective group, continuously .
Risk analysis and evaluation
Through an e nterprise risk management process, sev-
eral gross risks in Better Collective are identified. Each
risk is described, including current risk mitigation in
place, or planned mitigating actions. The subsequent
analysis of the identified risks includes an inherent risk
evaluation based on two main parameters: probability
of occurrence and impact on future e arnings and c ash
flow.
Risk control
The risk evaluation is presented to the Board of Direc-
tors for discussion of and any further mitigating actions
required, on an annual basis. Between the annual evalu-
ation, the Audit Committee oversees the ongoing risk
management process. The Board evaluates risk dynam-
ically to cater for this variation in risk impact. The poli-
cies and guidelines in place stipulate how Better Collec-
tive’s management must work with risk management.
Risk mitigation
Better Collective’s IT department continuously
monitors its global technical infrastructure,
aiming to identify and minimize risk to the com-
pany’s production and performance. Through
well-established procedures and solutions, Bet-
ter Collective can quickly restore critical busi-
ness operations.
Market regulation and legal risk
Changes to applicable laws and regulations
could lead to an increased burden of compli-
ance. Contractual risk as well as legal risk re-
lated to regulatory requirements are critical.
Failure to meet or implement regulatory re-
quirements concerning, for instance, data pro-
tection, confidentia lity agreements, IPR, and
fraud constitutes a risk.
Cybercrime risk
As a digital software -based company with a
core business based on modern information
technology, Better Collective’s failure to ade-
quately protect itself against IT risk represents
a distinct risk. Cybercrime including unauthor-
ized access to Better Collective’s network and
data could endanger applications as well as the
infrastructure and the technical environment
stored on Better Collective’s network.
Recruitment and
retention risk
People remain the key drivers in everything
that we do at Better Collective since our busi-
ness is based on specialized expertise and inno-
vation. Failure to attract, develop, and retain
the most skilled employees and management
talent constitutes a risk to the company and our
ability to scale operations.
Risk mitigation
iGaming regulation provides transparency to
the legal framework, which in turn enhances
predictability. Better Collective has established
a central legal function that, together with the
commercial and business development opera-
tions, ensures a stage-gate approach when new
contracts are made and when new regulations
or compliance are being imposed.
Risk mitigation
Better Collective’s values and employer brand-
ing serve as strong tools for recruitment of tal-
ent. We monitor employee performance and
engagement through bi -annual development
talks and annual workplace evaluations. New in-
itiatives in the People and Culture space include
a DEI board and training in diversity matters.
===== SIDA 35 =====
Annual report Page 35
Risk mitigation
When relevant, we involve regulatory bodies in
our licensing process for newly established en-
tities. We aim to implement a performance
based valuation of the acquired entities and to
establish local governance/management for
entities of a certain size. We implement local Fi-
nance, HR, and Legal organizations dedicated
to the entities when relevant.
Acquisition risk
With our acquisition focus increasingly turned
to larger companies , the overall risk profile of
Better Collective has changed, and regulatory
as well as financial risk has increased. Especially
when entering new markets by way of M&A and
in the following integration with the rest of the
group
.
Search engine and ranking risk
Algorithm updates pose a risk to organic search
and ranking possibilities and may trigger opti-
mization challenges. The rise of AI chatbots
may impact the way media content is produced
and potentially the search behavior of users.
Risk mitigation
Regulatory compliance is systemized by the le-
gal team. We are educating ourselves on safer
gambling, on advertising standards and devel-
oping resources to help our users navigate the
sports betting industry. Deploying Mindway AI
solutions further aids the safer gambling
agenda. Transitioning to becoming a media
group gradually makes us less dependent on
gambling-related activities
.
ESG risk
To Better Collective, the key ESG/sustainability
risks lie within the social and governance
spaces and less within the environment space
since we are a digital business. Concerns re-
lated to problematic gambling and reputational
risk from not being perceived as acting respon-
sibly or within the regulatory frameworks.
Risk mitigation
As these matters are rapidly changing, we have
set up monitoring of the industry, newsletters
and experts and have systems in place to share
knowledge internally. Based on the monitoring,
we are continually testing different tactics and
solutions.
Financial risk
Financial risk management objectives and policies, in-
cluding market risk, foreign currency risk, interest rate
risk and credit risk are described in note 20 to the con-
solidated financial statements.
===== SIDA 36 =====
Annual report Page 36
Board of Directors
Jens Bager
Chair of the Board and of the Remuneration Committee
Born, 1959
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2016
Education: holds a M.Sc in Economics and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School.
Professional background: Jens Bager was the CEO of ALK-Abelló A/S for 16 years before joining Better Collective, and
prior to that served as EVP of Chr. Hansen A/S. Jens Bager is an Industrial Partner at Impilo AB, the Chair of Scantox
Holding ApS and Marleybones Ltd, and has served on various boards in Denmark, Sweden, and France. He has extensive
experience within general management of international and listed companies.
Other assignments: Member of the executive board of Apto Invest ApS, Apto Advisory ApS, Tandlægen.dk and Sym-
metry Administration ApS.
Previous assignments: Board Chair of Ambu A/S, Heatex AB and Poul Due Jensens Fond. CEO of ALK-Abelló A/S.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
Therese Hillman
Vice Chair and member of the Audit Committee
Born, 1980
Nationality, SE
Present position since 2021
Education: holds a M.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics with exchange terms at
the University of Virginia and the University of North Georgia.
Professional background: CEO of Network of Design (NOD), a group of Scandinavian design companies. Therese Hillman
was prior to her current role as CEO of NOD the Group CEO of NetEnt. In this role, she steered the company during a
turnaround phase, in a time of changing regulation and market conditions, US market expansion, and a large acquisition
of the fast-growing competitor Red Tiger.
Other assignments: Board Chair of String Furniture AB, Nordic eTrade AB, Grythyttan Stålmöbler, Kasthall AB and
Sweden Concepts AB. Board member of Byarums Bruk, Cooee Design, Wall of Art and Norling Cavalin.
Previous assignments : Prior to joining NetEnt in 2017, Therese Hillman worked at Gymgrossisten.com for ten years,
where she was the CEO for the last six years, and prior to that she worked in the roles as COO and CFO. Former board
member of Unibet.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
===== SIDA 37 =====
Annual report Page 37
Britt Boeskov
Board member and member of the Remuneration Committee
Born, 1978
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2023
Education: holds a M.Sc. in Intercultural Communication and Management from Copenhagen Business School
Professional background : Britt Boeskov has held positions in global companies such as Chief Experience Officer for
Kindred Group, one of the largest gambling companies in the world. Until September 2022, Britt was SVP of Group
Strategy and Execution in Better Collective.
Other assignments: Serves on the Boards of MAG Interactive, Mindway AI, GAMING1 and Racecourse Media Group while
she is also the principal owner of her own consultancy.
Previous assignments: Being with Kindred from 2005 to 2022 Britt has held various positions, including Chief Program
Officer and Chief Operating Officer, during which time she led and transformed the business through fundamental in-
dustry changes, in terms of regulation, user expectations and technology advances.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
Todd Dunlap
Board member and member of the Remuneration Committee
Born, 1966
Nationality, USA
Present position since 2020
Education: holds two Bachelor of Science degrees (aerospace engineering and business administration), with a graduate
in Business and International Management from Stanford University and Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Professional background: Todd Dunlap is the current CEO and Board Chair of the startup OfferUp, one of the Seattle
region’s only tech startups valued at more than 1 bnUSD. Prior to this role he was the CEO of North America for Book-
ing.com and as such was responsible for the overall growth of the company’s business in the United States and Canada.
Prior to joining Booking.com in 2012, Todd worked 14 years at Microsoft, most recently in the role of Vice President &
COO of Microsoft’s Consumer & Online Division.
Other assignments: Guest lecturer and mentor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, and investor
in Seattle-area SaaS AI/ML, data and eCommerce startups as a founding LP of Ascend.vc.
Previous assignments: Todd Dunlap has served as strategic advisor for Booking Holdings, and Vice President and Man-
aging Director of the Americas Region also at Booking.com. President and general manager at Microsoft Licensing, and
former Board Advisor to Better Collective. Todd Dunlap also led the Internet Business Unit at WRQ, a global software
and consulting firm.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
===== SIDA 38 =====
Annual report Page 38
Leif Nørgaard
Board member and chair of the Audit Committee
Born, 1955
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2014
Education: Leif Nørgaard holds a M.Sc in Economics and Business Administration from Aarhus Business School and is a
state authorized public accountant.
Professional background : Leif Nørgaard has held senior positions in global companies such as CFO for Chr. Hansen
Group, CFO for Dako Group, CFO for Teleca Group, and has served on boards in several countries. Leif Nørgaard is a
professional investor in start-up companies. He has extensive experience in finance, start-ups, and growth companies.
Other assignments: Leif Nørgaard is currently the board chair of Myselfie Aps, Zerv Aps, DM Greenkeeping Danmark A/S
and K/S Sunset Boulevard, Esbjerg. He is a member of the executive board of AnnoAnno ApS, Ooono A/S, Hubb Aps
Sunset Boulevard, Esbjerg Komplementar ApS and Robo Invest 2020 ApS,ONG Invest Aps and SNG Invest ApS.
Previous assignments: Board member of Teklatech A/S, 2XL2016 ApS, Actimo LATAM Holdco ApS, DTU Science Park
A/S, Dialægt/Citatplakat Aps and Komplementarsel, and Landshut Aps. Chair of the board of K/S SDR. Fasanvej, Fred-
eriksberg and MuteBox ApS, Partner of ApS Komplementarselskabet SDR. Fasanvej, Frederiksberg.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
René Rechtman
Board member and member of the Remuneration Committee
Born, 1970
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2023
Education: holds a M.Sc. in Politics and International Relations from the University of Copenhagen.
Professional background: René Rechtman is co-founder and CEO of Moonbug Entertainment, an award-winning global
entertainment company behind some of the most popular childrens’ titles including CoComelon, Blippi, Little Angel and
Morphle.
Other assignments: Board member of The Guardian, Blast Aps, as well as Podimo and until recently also of JP/Politikens
Hus.
Previous assignments: Prior to setting up Moonbug, Rechtman was Head of Non-Linear Media at The Walt Disney Com-
pany, which he joined through the 2014 acquisition of Maker Studios, where he served as both investor and President.
Prior to this, Rechtman held senior leadership positions at AOL, GoViral. and TradeDoubler.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
===== SIDA 39 =====
Annual report Page 39
Petra von Rohr
Board member and member of the Audit Committee
Born, 1972
Nationality, SE
Present position since 2018
Education: Petra von Rohr holds a M.Sc. in Economics from Stockholm School of Economics and McGill University in
Montreal, Canada.
Professional background: Petra von Rohr recently stepped down as the CEO of Biocool AB and she has experience from
executive management positions both from the finance industry and the communications industry. Most recently, she
was Head of Group Communications at Com Hem AB. Previous experience includes working as an equity analyst in
London and Stockholm. She has extensive experience from working with corporate communication and investor rela-
tions.
Other assignments: Board member of Webrock Ventures
Previous assignments: Member of the Executive Management team of Com Hem AB, Partner of Kreab AB, Board mem-
ber of LinkFire, the Global Vector Control Standard, Lauritz.com A/S, Lauritz.com Group A/S, Novare Human Capital
Aktiebolag and Takkei Trainingsystems AB.
Independence in relation to:
– Shareholders
– The company
Yes
Yes
===== SIDA 40 =====
Annual report Page 40
Executive management
Jesper Søgaard
CEO & Co-Founder
Born, 1983
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2004
Education: Jesper Søgaard holds a M.Sc. in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen.
Professional background: Jesper Søgaard founded Better Collective together with Christian Kirk Rasmussen in 2004
and has been working with and developing the Group’s operations since its beginning.
Other assignments: Member of the board of directors of Rådhusholmen A/S, MM PROPERTIES, Over Bølgen A/S, Bet-
terNow WORLDWIDE ApS, and Centerholmen A/S. CEO of J. Søgaard Holding ApS, and founding member of Dreamcraft
Ventures Management ApS. Member of the executive board of Better Holding 2012 A/S and J. Søgaard holding A/S.
Previous assignments (past five years) : Member of the board of directors of Bumble Ventures General Partners ApS,
Bumble Ventures Management ApS, Bumble Ventures Invest ApS, Ejendomsselskabet Algade 30 -32 A/S, Symmetry
Invest A/S, Shiprs Danmark ApS, Scatter Web ApS, Ploomo ApS, Gedoe A/S, and VIGGA.us A/S. Member of the executive
board Bumble Ventures SPV ApS.
Christian Kirk Rasmussen
COO & Co-Founder
Born, 1983
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2004
Education: Christian Kirk Rasmussen holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Copenhagen Business School.
Professional background: Christian Kirk Rasmussen founded Better Collective together with Jesper Søgaard in 2004
and has been working with and developing the Group’s operations since its beginning.
Other assignments: Member of the board of directors Omnigame ApS and MM Properties ApS. Member of the executive
board Chr. Dam Holding ApS, and Better Holding 2012 A/S. Founding member of Dreamcraft Ventures Management
ApS.
Previous assignments (past five years) : Board member of Bumble Ventures General Partners ApS, Bumble Ventures
Management ApS, Bumble Ventures Invest ApS and Ejendomsselskabet Algade 30 -32 A/S. Member of the executive
board Yellowsunmedia ApS. Member of the executive board Bumble Ventures SPV ApS.
===== SIDA 41 =====
Annual report Page 41
Flemming Pedersen
CFO
Born, 1965
Nationality, DK
Present position since 2018
Education: Flemming Pedersen holds a M.Sc. (cand. merc. aud.) and HD (Bachelor of Business Administration) from
Copenhagen Business School.
Professional background: Flemming Pedersen has more than 25 years of management experience, whereof more than
20 years in executive positions in public companies. He has served as CFO of ALK -Abelló A/S, and was CEO and
president of Neurosearch A/S. He has experience in general management, finance, accounting, tax matters, risk man-
agement and capital markets. In addition, he has experience from board positions in both public and private companies
in Denmark as well as internationally.
Other assignments: Member of the executive board of Naapster ApS.
Previous assignments (past five years): Chair of the Board Mindway AI ApS
Annual report Page 41
===== SIDA 42 =====
Annual report Page 42
The BETCO share
and shareholders
Better Collective A/S has been listed since
June 8, 2018 , and is traded on the Nasdaq
Stockholm and Nasdaq Copenhagen The
group’s ticker is BETCO and BETCO DKK,
respectively .
Share price and trading
The closing price on December 31, 2023, for the BETCO
share was 256.50 SEK and BETCO DKK 172,20 DKK cor-
responding to a total market cap of approximately
14,201 mSEK/ 9,534 mDKK. During the period from Jan-
uary 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, a total of 13.296.909
BETCO shares and a total of 973.808 BETCO DKK shares
were traded at a total value of 1,029 mSEK/154 mDKK.
The average number of shares traded per trading day
was approximately 52.976 (BETCO) and 33580 (BETCO
DKK), corresponding to a total value of 20
mSEK/13mDKK. An average of BETCO 52,976 and
BETCO DKK 175 trades were completed per trading day.
The highest price paid for BETCO during the period Jan-
uary 1, 2023, to December 31, 202 3 was BETCO 299.00
SEK on November 7, 2023 and BETCO DKK 180.00 on
December 27,2023. T he lowest price paid for BETCO
was 127.10 SEK on January 2, 202 3 and BETCO DKK
139.20 on November 17, 2023. During the period from
January 1, 202 3, to December 31, 202 3, BETCO share
price increased by 101.6% and BETCO DKK price in-
creased by 22.2%, while the OMX Large Cap list in-
creased by 16.4%.
Shareholders
On December 31, 202 3, most of the share capital was
owned by the company’s founders and institutions pre-
dominantly in Sweden, Denmark, and the rest of Europe.
On December 31, 202 3, Better Collective had 4,82 1
known shareholders, corresponding to a 31% increase
from January 1, 2023 . The ten largest shareholders ac-
counted for 62 % of the votes and share capital. The
members of Better Collective’s Board of D irectors held
a total of 1,508,416 Better Collective shares. The execu-
tive management held a total of 21,654,324 Better Col-
lective shares. The individual holdings can be found on
page 35.
Share capital and capital
structure
On 31 December 202 3, the share capital amounted to
553,674.18 EUR, and the total number of issued shares
was 55,367,418. The company has one (1) class of shares.
Each share entitles the holder to one vote at the general
meetings. All shares in the market hold equal voting
rights and equal rights to the company’s earnings and
capital.
Annual report Page 42
===== SIDA 43 =====
Annual report Page 43
Top 10 largest shareholders as of December 31, 2023
Owners Num. of shares Capital and votes
Jesper Søgaard 10.671.179 19,27%
Christian Kirk Rasmussen 10.671.179 19,27%
Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker A/S 2.523.000 4.56%
Andra AP-fonden 2.170.724 3.92%
Danica Pension 1.804.353 3.26%
Tredje AP-fonden 1.480.092 2.67%
Teacher Retirement System of Texas 1.474.446 2.67%
Better Collective A/S 1.387.580 2.51%
Deka Investments 1.268.300 2.30%
Knutsson Holdings AB 1.090.000 1.98%
Top 10 largest shareholders 34.540.853 62.41%
Other shareholders 20.826.565 37.59%
Total number of shares 55.367.418 100%
Source: Modular Finance AB. Data compiled from Euroclear, Morningstar, Finansinspektionen, Nasdaq
Share price and trading
Closing price 2023 BETCO 256.50 SEK
Closing price 2023 BETCO DKK 172.20 DKK
Corresponding MCAP 14,202 mSEK
Total number of shares traded on Nasdaq Stockholm exchange 9,546 mDKK
Total number of shares traded on Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange 13.296.864
Traded total value on Nasdaq Stockholm exchange 973.808
Traded total value on Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange 1.029.976.589
Avg. shares traded on Nasdaq Stockholm exchange per day 52.967
Avg. shares traded on Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange per day 33.579
Avg. traded total value per day Nasdaq Stockholm exchange (SEK) 12.151.556
Avg. traded total value per day Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange (DKK) 5.328.932
Total number of trades on Nasdaq Stockholm exchange 139.151
Total number of trades on Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange 5.082
Avg. trades per day on Nasdaq Stockholm exchange 554
Avg. trades per day on Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange 175
Highest price paid between 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31: (2023-11-07) BETCO (SEK) 299
Highest price paid between 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31: (2023-12-27) BETCO DKK (DKK) 180
Lowest price paid between 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 : (2023-01-02) BETCO (SEK) 126.3
Lowest price paid between 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 (2023-11-17) BETCO DKK (DKK) 139.2
Share price change from closing 2022-12-30 to 2023-12-29 BETCO 101.6%
Share price change from closing 2022-12-30 to 2023-12-29 BETCO DKK 22.2%
OMX Large Cap list (OMXSLCGI) change from closing 2022-12-30 to 2023-12-31 16.4%
Shareholders:
Known shareholders December 2023 4.821
Change in number of known shareholders between 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31: (3.669 -->4821) 31%
Top 10 largest shareholders % 62%
Source: Modular Finance AB. Data compiled from Euroclear, Morningstar, Finansinspektionen, Nasdaq
===== SIDA 44 =====
Annual report Page 44
Dividend policy
Better Collective has successfully executed an acquisi-
tion strategy since 2017, completing more than 30 ac-
quisitions so far. The M&A-pipeline is strong with the op-
portunity to acquire large companies. Therefore, the
company does not expect to pay dividends until further.
The Board of D irectors will revisit the capital structure
of the Group annually and evaluate whether to pay div-
idends. The decision to pay dividends will be based on
the company’s financial position, investment needs, li-
quidity position as well as general economic and busi-
ness conditions. If the Board of Directors finds it appro-
priate, dividend pay-out may be partially or wholly sub-
stituted by a share buy -back. Thus, the B oard has pro-
posed that no dividend is paid out for the financial year
of 2023.
Individuals with insider
position
Listed companies are required to record a logbook of in-
dividuals who are employed or contracted by the com-
pany and have access to insider information relating to
the company. These can include insiders, but also other
individuals who have obtained inside i nformation. Bet-
ter Collective records a logbook for each financial report
or regulatory release containing information that could
affect the share price.
Investor relations
Better Collective shall provide correct, relevant , and
clear information to all its shareholders, the capital mar-
ket, society, and the media, at the same time. Infor-
mation that is deemed to be inside information shall be
published so that it reaches the public in a quick, non -
discriminatory manner. All im portant events that could
influence the value of Better Collective shall be commu-
nicated as soon as possible, that is in direct connection
with the decision being taken, the election taking place
or the event becoming known to Better Collective. The
Better Collective website, www.bettercollective.com,
contains relevant material for shareholders, including
the current share price, press regulatory releases, and
general information about the company. Better Co llec-
tive maintains a quiet period of 30 days prior to the pub-
lication of interim financial reports. During this period,
representatives of the Group do not meet with financial
media, analysts or investors.
Analysts covering
Better Collective
ABG Sundal Collier
Oscar Rönnkvist
oscar.Ronnkvist@abgsc.se
Cantor Fitzgerald
Edward James
Edward.james@cantor.com
Jefferies
James Wheatcroft
jwheatcroft@jefferies.com
Nordea Markets
Sebastian Grave
Peter.sebastian.grave@nordea.com
Redeye
Hjalmar Ahlberg
hjalmar.ahlberg@redeye.se
Contact
Mikkel Munch-Jacobsgaard
Senior Director of Investor Relations, Corporate Com-
munications and Group Strategy
investor@bettercollective.com
===== SIDA 45 =====
Annual report Page 45
Sustainability
Report
Annual report Page 45
===== SIDA 46 =====
Annual report Page 46
Founder statement
We are pleased to present Better Collec-
tive’s Sustainability Report for the year
2023, which showcases our ongoing com-
mitment to sustainable environmental, so-
cial and governance practices .
Since the inception of Better Collective, our unwavering
commitment has been to deliver compelling and immer-
sive sports content to our users. This commitment has
helped shape our vision to become the leading digital
sports media group along with our missio n to excite
sports fans through engaging content and foster pas-
sionate communities worldwide. Positioned as a leader
at the crossroads of media, entertainment, and iGaming,
we reach hundreds of millions of sports fans and enthu-
siasts, bringing with it the obligation to ensure a respon-
sible and sustainable offering including editorial guide-
lines, proper segmentation, and safer gambling re-
sources.
Offering transparency
Championing transparency is a cornerstone of our sus-
tainable growth strategy. As we are continually growing
our business and rapidly adding new entities, we dedi-
cate our attention to initiatives that allow us to grow
sustainably. Perhaps most importantly we want to guide
sports fans towards Better Collective brands before
they embark on their sports betting journey. By doing so
we ensure that we can educate the user before they em-
bark on a potential sports betting venture. In this jour-
ney we offer transparency in what licensed partners
there are and how their offers differ.
Safer gambling initiatives
Better Collective plays a pivotal role in channeling
sports fans responsibly to licensed sportsbooks in regu-
lated markets. In the online marketplace , users are met
with a multitude of offers, some of which are in markets
without regulations , meaning that user protection
measures may not be in place and marketing practices
non-compliant. Positioned strategically in the value
chain, our objective is not only to educate sports fans
but also to direct them towards licensed sportsbooks to
safeguard their interests.
As always, safer gambling is a key element in our sus-
tainability efforts, and our subsidiary Mindway AI has
once again been an industry lighthouse within this field.
In late 2023, the National Council on Problem Gambling
partnered with Mindway AI to enhanc e safer gambling
initiatives. We are extremely proud of the exciting part-
nership with NCPG nationwide in the US. This collabora-
tion is a testament to our commitment to innovation in
safer gambling and a shared vision of creating a safer
future, paving the way for industry transformation and
redefining what is possible.
Sustainability commitment
Our dedication to sustainability is not confined to our
business operations but extends to supporting the
broader sustainable development of our world and in-
dustry. In 2019, Better Collective committed to incorpo-
rate the UN Global Compact and its 10 principles into our
strategy, culture, and day -to-day operations. With this
report, which is also our Communication on Progress,
we renew our ongoing commitment to the initiative as
well as our continued support for the Sustainable Devel-
opment Goals (SDGs).
As a result of our commitment, we persistently strive to
operate in ways that meet fundamental responsibilities
in the areas of human rights, labor , environment and
anti-corruption. We see our efforts and commitment as
a constant work in progress which each year gets better,
and we strive to supply the data to support transpar-
ency of our efforts.
Better together
In early 2023, Better Collective joined the All- In Diver-
sity Project , which is an industry -driven initiative to
benchmark diversity, equity, and inclusion for the global
sports media industry. We are proud to join as the first
non-sportsbook founding member to provide guidance
and support sharing best practices and resources.
Working to further our DEI agenda during 2023, an ad-
vanced and updated DEI framework was developed for
the group together with new DEI targets for the ongoing
year. Better Collective m arked International Women’s
Day (IWD) by teaming up with the All- in Diversity pro-
ject to pay tribute to women around the world. Unfortu-
nately, the job market is to this day still quite gender -
imbalanced and that curbs developments in businesses
as well as society. The business community plays a large
role in the battle to create a more inclusive society and
by joining such initiatives Better Collective takes part in
identifying and making businesses more diverse.
Being a big international group with 45 nationalities rep-
resented across 20 offices across the world, we decided
to roll out unconscious bias training across the group for
all employees to participate in during 202 3. We have
also put in place practices in our recruitment process to
minimize the gender gap within the group, and 2023 in-
itiatives included awareness of possible bias in our re-
cruitment processes, including training for hiring man-
agers, job ad terminology, screening , and the develop-
ment of a recr uitment policy stating that every job in-
terview should have minimum two genders represented
in the first interview.
Developing talents
Another year has gone by, and we cannot fail to mention
our successful in-house academies. Since 2021, Better
Collective has been running its academies in Niš, Serbia,
which targets the local youth by encouraging them to
===== SIDA 47 =====
Annual report Page 47
enroll in one of our education programs tailored by Bet-
ter Collective.
Having our own, specially designed training delivered in
the form of SEO - (search engine optimization), SEM -
(search engine marketing), WordPress-, Full Stack-, and
Quality Assurance-Academies is a key long-term play in
ensuring Better Collective can continue to hire best -in-
class talents, who already come equipped with the skill
sets required to hit the ground running.
Not only are t he academies beneficial to Better Collec-
tive, but they also provide an alternative education and
subsequent career opportunity for the youth in Niš. In
2023, we enrolled a total of 73 participants across 14
academies, and we are proud to share that 75% of the
enrolled candidates today are part of the Better Collec-
tive group.
Environmental responsibility
Environmental responsibility remains a core facet of our
sustainability approach. Rigorous tracking of carbon
emissions for fi ve consecutive years underscores our
commitment to minimizing our environmental impact.
While our online business inherently limits our carbon
footprint, we take proactive measures to address travel-
related emissions. With offices across the world, we
value the opportunity to meet in person to create closer
ties between teams and similarly for business contacts,
not least after being cut off from meetings during the
pandemic. That said, we have also fully embraced the
virtual meeting facilities and we are carefully consider-
ing when to fly. Throughout 2023, we have continued to
update and develop our policies, systems, and pro-
cesses to manage and mitigate social, governance and
environmental risks.
Looking ahead
Our commitment to forging a more sustainable future
for our group and stakeholders remains unwavering,
and we look forward to setting new benchmarks in the
years to come.
We continue to let our mission lead us in our efforts to
become an even more sustainable group with trusted
products and brands, while our framework and strategy
steer us to be and do better.
Christian Kirk Rasmussen
Co-founder & COO
Jesper Søgaard
Co-founder & CEO
Annual report Page 47
===== SIDA 48 =====
Annual report Page 48
Reporting framework
The present report covers the financial
year January 1, 202 3, to December 31, 202 3,
and constitutes our statutory reporting cf.
the Danish Financial Statements Act,
Sections 99a and 99d and 107d as well as
the EU Taxonomy regulation.
Framework and commitments
To give our stakeholders an overview of our perfor-
mances, the report puts forth our current sustainability
efforts and presents our focus areas, ambitions, achieve-
ments, and goals. The report addresses any relevant so-
cial, governance and environmental issues relating to
Better Collective’s activities.
To operationalize our sustainability strategy , we have
built on our framework which we introduced in the 2020
sustainability report. In this report, we have further
aligned our framework to the Environmental, Social and
Governance factors (ESG) and related them to our busi-
ness operations and key stake holders. We have made
sure that each area contributes to the positive develop-
ment of the chosen Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and/or respects the UNGC ten guiding princi-
ples. The report also serves as our Communication on
Progress as we renew our ongoing commitment to the
initiative and our continued support for the SDGs. Our
overall ambition is to use our leading position to influ-
ence and support safer gambling and a sustainable de-
velopment of society – for the benefit of our employees,
shareholders, users, partners, industry, and our busi-
ness.
Our commitment is founded on respect for the core
principles of human rights (including labor rights), the
environment (including climate), and anti-corruption as
reflected in the UN Guiding Principles for Business and
Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multina-
tional Enterprises. This commitment is embedded in
our strategy and business operations.
The ESG key figures presented in our reporting take
their departure in the ESG key figure overview as pub-
lished by The Danish Finance Society / CFA Society Den-
mark, FSR – Danish Auditors, and Nasdaq Copenhagen.
The reported data is uploaded to Nasdaq Nordi c’s ESG
Data Portal certifying Better Collective as a Nasdaq ESG
Transparency partner.
Continuity
While we have further aligned our focus areas to the
ESG framework, we have ensured continuity in report-
ing. Our ESG metrics have all been continued from the
previous sustainability report and for 2022 we have im-
plemented new data points for increased transparency
and in preparation for the upcoming Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Directive to come into force
from the financial year 2024.
Balance
Throughout the report we describe our efforts and
achievements, whether they are positive or negative.
We ensure this by continuing to report on the same met-
rics year after year and only adding to rather than dis-
continuing reporting on those metrics.
===== SIDA 49 =====
Annual report Page 49
Materiality assessment
The report primarily focuses on the topics that are con-
sidered the most important to our business operations.
These topics have been selected and prioritized based
on a double materiality assessment performed by Better
Collective’s management and the sustainability board.
The assessment is carried out as a mix of desk research,
internal workshops, questionnaires and dialogue over
time with our primary stakeholders for sustainability,
and the board. We consider our stakeholders for sus-
tainability to be our shareholders, our partners and
sports fans, our employees, regulatory authorities, and
society as a whole. The assessment includes how our ac-
tivities may affect society negatively and how society
may affect the company negatively.
The sustainability data collection in the present report
relates to Better Collective’s operations for 202 3, and
further addresses our ambitions and KPIs for the future
both short- and long-term. The outcome of our materi-
ality assessment is listed in the tables below.
Major
Safer gambling
Talent attraction and retention
Employee development
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Significant
Business ethics
Cybersecurity
Responsible marketing
Anti-corruption
Moderate
Data/privacy protection
Tax transparency
Climate risk
===== SIDA 50 =====
Annual report Page 50
ESG strategy
Responsibility as well as sustainability are
ingrained elements of Better Collective’s
business model and have been the
cornerstone of our group since our
incorporation in 2004.
===== SIDA 51 =====
Annual report Page 51
Sustainability
governance
Good and reliable governance is essential
to run a business responsibly while also
being able to realize our ambitious
strategic goals.
The governance of Better Collective’s sustainability ef-
forts defines the role of the Board and its Committees as
well as specifying the powers the Board delegates to our
group management.
We rely on clear terms of reference for the sustainability
board to support and advise us as we put our strategy
into action. To further the sustainability agenda, we
have put in place a DEI board and a safer gambling
board to address these matters across our organization,
gathering expertise from relevant teams. The insights
from these groups feed into the group management and
Board’s decision-making.
The Board of Better Collective
Our Board is a diverse one in terms of gender and na-
tionality. Members have expertise that includ es wide -
ranging board and leadership experience as well as spe-
cific skills such as understanding of sustainability, fi-
nance, the iGaming industry, technology and digital.
The Board has ultimate responsibility for reviewing,
monitoring, and guiding the strategy of Better Collec-
tive, as well as its conduct. Our Board members provide
constructive challenges, strategic guidance , and spe-
cialist advice, bringing their diverse experience to our
discussions and decision-making.
The Board has overall accountability for the manage-
ment and guidance of risks and opportunities, including
those associated with aspects of sustainability, such as
operating a compliant business, promoting safer gam-
bling, implementing socially responsible conducts, envi-
ronmental responsibility, and ethical behavior.
See risk management on page 35 for sustainability risks.
===== SIDA 52 =====
Annual report Page 52
Social
Our people
It is our long -term commitment to foster
and uphold an inclusive and diverse
workplace by implement ation of socially
responsible conducts and elimina tion of
discriminatory practices.
Our business is based on specialized
expertise and innovation, this is why
we see people as a core element in
everything that we do. We believe it
is crucial to consistently cultivate an
inclusive and diverse employment
environment that promotes the
rights of the individual. These efforts
support the SDG 8 in promoting
inclusive, sustainable, and productive
employment for everyone at Better
Collective.
Onboarding and learning
New employees, including those welcomed from ac-
quired companies, are introduced to Better Collective
and our policies through an extensive onboarding
program. We conduct biannual development dialogues
between manager and employee to discuss perfor-
mance and further development for each individual em-
ployee. Our leadership development initiative ensures
the continuous professional development of our manag-
ers to match the ever -changing nature of our business.
In October 2023, we initiated our leadership trainin g
program, delivering four modules across various local
Better Collective offices. A total of 80 managers actively
participated in this initiative. Notably, unlike the 2021 -
2022 program, the 2023 program was conducted in -
person, facilitating more direct interaction and engage-
ment.
By supporting the professional and personal develop-
ment of our managers, we enable them to identify and
deal with challenges in their respective teams. Ulti-
mately, such initiatives ensure the well- being of all em-
ployees and make Better Collective an attractive and re-
spected workplace.
Measuring our work culture
We conduct an annual workplace survey, and the 2023
results indicated a healthy and effective work environ-
ment with engaged and highly motivated employees.
Our engagement score of 84 % (2022 : 83%) is high
though fluctuating year to year which may also reflect
our continuous growth by new hires and entire teams
through acquisitions. The survey returned an unsatisfac-
tory number of harassment cases (10 in 2023 against 11
in 2022). As the survey is anonymous , we can only
investigate the cases that are also reported to HR of
which we have had none that were considered severe.
During the year we implemented unconscious bias train-
ing to educate all employees and encourage them to
come forward if they experience harassment of any kind
for the matter to be dealt with. We will strive to increase
openness while working to bring down the number of
cases. We recognize the risk for the well -being of the
employees exposed to harassment of any kind as well as
for our work environment.
Health and safety
We give priority to health and safety at work in compli-
ance with the regulations and standards in the countries
in which we operate. We run local health and safety ini-
tiatives to assess health and safety risks and to generate
preventive solutions. The heal th and safety committee
issues guidelines, performs workplace evaluations, and
maintains the fire instructions and evacuation plan.
We have implemented a more flexible working schedule
as working from home (WFH) has proven efficient for
most of our employees, both in terms of productivity
and improving the work-life balance. We follow and ad-
here to the guidelines set out by the authorities where
applicable. Depending on local customs, our offices pro-
vide employees with internet allowance, IT equipment
and office furniture. In this way, we make sure they have
the best physical condition at their home office. We had
3 reported cases of workplace injuries in 2023 (2022: 0).
We place strong emphasis on promoting the physical
health and well-being of our employees, which we pro-
moted through various initiatives during 2023, including
meditations, humanitarian races, and various sports
tournaments. Better Collective’s office located in Niš,
Serbia, encouraged health and safety at work through
an initiative to also help others by participating in an IT
race “
Stafeta Srcem”. 16 employees participated in the
race and raised funds which were donated to the Clinical
Center for Anesthesiology. The humanitarian race was
a dynamic blend of teamwork and innovation, with di-
verse teams coming together to make a real difference.
A reminder that when we work together creatively, we
can achieve incredible things , and Better Collective’s
team placed second in the race. During 2023 other initi-
atives supporting the physical wellbeing of the group in-
clude an IT Basketball League and a Football League.
Movin’ May was a month -long campaign for the North
American business created during the Mental Health
Awareness month. This included a step count challenge
throughout the month utilizing an app called to track
steps on one’s smartphone. All participants were formed
in teams; hence collaboration was greatly encouraged.
From the initial fitness challenge to newly formed teams,
every aspect of the campaign was designed to inspire
and motivate employees to incorporate physical activity
into their daily routines.
===== SIDA 53 =====
Annual report Page 53
The project was met with positive reactions resulting in
a high engagement rate of 49% participation from the
total number of employees. At first, the goal was set at
18,000,000 collective steps, however the teams ex-
ceeded the goal by 201% and amassed rema rkable re-
sults of 36,228,125 steps.
Acknowledging the importance of mental health and its
impact on work , Better Collective also implemented
meditation classes during 2023. Meditation has turned
out to be one of the most effective ways to decrease
stress, improve concentration and provide calmness,
which is why virtual meditation sessions were hosted
during October in honor of World Mental Health Aware-
ness. These sessions garnered an impressive turnout,
with over 100 participants, and the sessions were led by
Michael Rich, the founder of Good Work Coaching. Ses-
sions provided attendees with valuable lessons on how
to cultivate mindfulness, resulting in overwhelmingly
positive feedback from employees.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, cf. §107d
In our operational ethos and concerning the structure of
our leadership, we strive to foster equity through aware-
ness of age, educational background, professional and
international experience in recruitment and staff reten-
tion processes, ensuring equal pay and access to train-
ing opportunities, while maintaining a steadfast zero -
tolerance stance against workplace harassment. As out-
lined in our diversity manifesto, we are dedicated to cul-
tivating a varied workforce and inclusive environment.
Diversity encompasses numerous dimensions ethnicity,
Better Collective is committed to providing equitable
opportunities to all members of management through-
out our organization, supported by robust policies and
benefits aimed at promoting diversity and equality.
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Board actively
engages our employees in these endeavors through em-
ployee resource groups. Management affirms that these
policies are upheld, as diversity and inclusion criteria
have been integral in the selection processes for both
the Board of Directors and other managerial positions in
2023.
At Better Collective we strive to foster diverse teams
and we see this as essential for driving innovation,
productivity, creativity, and the ability to attract top tal-
ent. Working to further our DEI agenda during 2023, an
advanced and updated DEI framework was developed.
With the new framework co -founder and CEO, Jesper
Søgaard was announced as the new Chair of the DEI
Board and new DEI targets for the ongoing year were
developed. Structural changes of the DEI framework
brought significant success, with enhanced collabora-
tion and efficiency . With its agenda and n ew updated
DEI targets, Better Collective marked International
Women’s Day (IWD) by teaming up with the All -in Di-
versity project to pay tribute to women around the
world. Additionally, the group also rolled out uncon-
scious bias training to the entire organization during
2023 and reached an impressive participation rate of
89%. In celebration of United Nations Day on October
24, Better Collective put together the Better Collective
Cookbook to unite and celebrate the rich tapestry of di-
versity and cultures within the entire group.
Gender distribution
Better Collective operates within an industry predomi-
nantly led by men, encompassing both technology and
sports betting. Recognizing this disparity and aiming to
contribute positively to Sustainable Development Goal
5, initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion were pri-
oritized in our agenda for 2023. These initiatives focused
on raising awareness of potential biases in our recruit-
ment processes, which included training for hiring man-
agers, refining job ad language, and implementing
screening measures.
Despite these efforts, by the end of 2023, the proportion
of underrepresented gender (women) within the Better
Collective group stood at 31%, a marginal increase from
the 29% recorded in 202 2. This lack of progress indi-
cates a deviation from our target of achieving 35% rep-
resentation by 2030.
Collaboration and commitment to
further the gender equality agenda
In early 2023, Better Collective joined the All- In Diver-
sity Project , which is an industry -driven initiative to
benchmark diversity, equity, and inclusion for the global
iGaming sector. We are proud to join as the first non -
===== SIDA 54 =====
Annual report Page 54
sportsbook founding member alongside the likes of En-
tain, Caesars, Betsson, Flutter and Kindred, to provide
guidance and support sharing best practices and re-
sources.
We have further shown our commitment to gender
equality in signing both the Confederation of Danish In-
dustry’s (DI) Gender Diversity Pledge along with the
UN’s Women Empowerment Principles. The job market
is to this day still quite gender- imbalanced and that
curbs developments in businesses as well as society. The
business community plays a large role in the battle to
create a more inclusive society and by joining these ini-
tiatives Better Collective takes part in identifying and
making businesses more diverse.
The 2023 initiatives included awareness of possible bias
in our recruitment processes, including training for hir-
ing managers, job ad terminology, screening , and the
development of a recruitment policy stating that every
job interview should have minimum two genders repre-
sented in the first interview. By the end of the year Bet-
ter Collective group counted 31% of the underrepre-
sented gender (women) against 29% in 2022 which
means we have not made pro gress towards our goal of
reaching 35% by 2030.
Human rights
Better Collective persistently strives to be a responsible
corporate citizen, which entails respecting human rights
and supporting the protection as well as advancement
of human rights. To solidify our commitment, we con-
tinue to commit to our human rights policy. We continue
to work on human rights due diligence process es to
move us from commitment to action. So far, we consider
our salient human rights issues to relate to our own
workforce. During the current accounting period, all new
employees have been trained in human rights , which
helps minimize the risk of potential misconduct. No hu-
man rights issues were identified during the 2023 finan-
cial year.
Developing talents
Since 2021, Better Collective has been running its acad-
emies in Niš, Serbia, which targets the local youth by en-
couraging them to enroll in one of the education pro-
grams tailored by Better Collective.
Having our own, specially designed training delivered in
the form of the SEO (search engine optimization ), SEM
(search engine marketing), WordPress, fullstack, and
quality assurance academies is a key long -term play in
ensuring Better Collective can continue to hire best -in-
class talents, who already come equipped with the skill
sets required and can hit the ground running.
Not only are t he academies beneficial to Better Collec-
tive, but they also provide an alternative education and
Eurocleasubsequently career opportunity for the youth
in Niš. By educating the local youth in tech and
marketing we also contribute to lowering the general
unemployment rate in Serbia. It is a true win -win situa-
tion being able to give back to the community while fur-
thering our own competitive advantage . In 202 3, we
enrolled a total of 73 participants across 14 academies.
75% of the candidates are today part of the Better Col-
lective group.
Annual report Page 54
===== SIDA 55 =====
Annual report Page 55
Social
Our users
For our users, our long -term commitment
is to promote safer gambling through edu-
cation. Ultimately, the focus on safer gam-
bling and being a responsible business is
what grants us our social license to oper-
ate.
As a digital sports media group , we derive a significant
part of our revenues from our user’s engagement in
sports betting with our sports book partners Better Col-
lective views sports betting purely as a form of enter-
tainment and wants to make sure that sports fans and
employees’ betting experiences remain as a form of fun
and entertainment. In June 2023 , Better Collective im-
plemented mandatory safer gambling training for all
employees within the group.
Safer gambling resources
We want to ensure that our users are better suited to
navigate the iGaming world by visiting a Better Collec-
tive website before registering an account with a sports-
book. We focus on the teaching of strategies and the
presentation of insightful information and data to make
our users more confident in their betting. However, we
do not, and cannot, guarantee winning – and we will
never claim to do so. As Better Collective is not a
sportsbook, we rely on our partner sportsbooks to scan
for user behavior and tak e action when a sports fan
shows signs of at-risk or problem gambling behavior.
We can educate sports fans, e.g ., by making sure that
they know the legal gambling age, of possible adverse
effects of gambling, and prevention. By taking respon-
sibility in protecting end -users from potential negative
health-impacts - in this case gambling addiction - and
by promoting mental health and well-being through var-
ious initiatives, it is our goal to aid the positive advance-
ment of SDG 3.
We offer safer gambling resources on our websites, as
well as aa Betting Academy to educate users. To ensure
that safer gambling is well coded to our business prac-
tice Better Collective deployed two policies on safer
gambling, one internal policy and one external policy
both available on the corporate website. The policies are
revised on an annual basis. Additionally, Better Collec-
tive uses the Gamalyze software on its internal em-
ployee platform and encourage s all employees to take
the test annually. The Gamalyze self -test is also rolled
out across the group’s sports me dia portfolio for exter-
nal use.
Collectively we are better
We strongly believe that the long -term sustainability
and growth of the sports betting industry is dependent
on responsible operations. Evidently, this is not
achieved by a single business, but rather by a collective
effort across the industry. This is why Better Collective
in 2019 entered into a partnership with our peers Racing
Post and Oddschecker to co -found the UK based trade
association, Responsible Affiliates in Gambling (RAiG).
Through RAiG we promote socially responsible market-
ing of gambling products and a safer gambling environ-
ment for users. As a condition of membership in RAiG,
each member is subject to an annual social responsibil-
ity audit which is conducted by an independent third
party. Again, this year we participated in the Safer Gam-
bling Week, a cross-industry initiative to promote safer
gambling in Europe.
Similarly, we are active members of various national as-
sociations, one of which is the Danish Online Gambling
Association (DOGA). Through DOGA we work to initiate
dialogue between all stakeholders in the gambling in-
dustry to secure a responsible and safe gambling market
in Denmark and other countries. We are also members
of the German Association for Telecommunication and
Media (DVTM) and the US National Council on Problem
Gambling (NCPG).
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Creating safer user
experiences with
Mindway AI
Better Collective’s subsidiary, Mindway AI [Mindway]
specializes in supporting the iGaming industry with var-
ious safer gambling tools and solutions. Mindway is an
award-winning company that develops state of the art
software solutions for fully automatic monitoring and
profiling of gamblers and for identifying, preventing,
and intervening in at -risk and problem gambling. In
2023, Mindway celebrated its five-year anniversary, and
continues to play an increasingly important role in the
iGaming ecosystem supporting sportsbooks on a global
scale to create safer iGaming experiences.
While we cannot control what sportsbooks do, we sup-
port them by holding them to high standards during the
customer acquisition and ongoing CRM process and by
providing them with a chance to set the bar higher and
take initiative in developing sustainable gaming through
Mindway AI’s tools and software. As such, Mindway is
extending its influence in the value chain rather than fo-
cusing only on its own playing field.
During the year 2023, Mindway has secured many stra-
tegic partnerships allowing it to grow even further. The
first partnership was entered with Australian operator
Tabcorp which also marked the entry into a completely
new market. Hereafter, Mindway partnered with
AnonyMind, a treatment provider network in the UK, al-
lowing Mindway AI to offer AnonyMind’s users a com-
plete solution for dealing with problem gambling. A
groundbreaking partnership was formed with the
United S tates’ National Council on Problem Gamb ling
(NCPG), which has incorporated Mindway’s Gamalyze
solution into NCPG’s safer gambling website Responsi-
blePlay.org, making Gamalyze the first ever safer gam-
bling tool to go nationwide in the US. Another notewor-
thy partnership of the year was entered wi th the Dutch
operator BetCity.nl, which aims to enhance user protec-
tion and promote safer gambling practices for Dutch
sportsbooks.
In 2023, Mindway was awarded no less than six industry
awards for its efforts within safer gambling. These in-
clude awards for innovation within safer gambling, best
implementation of safer gambling tools and being the
best safer gambling supplier.
Early detection
Mindway partners with sportsbooks and leading indus-
try organizations with a clear mission to improve player
protection in the industry. By combining neuroscience,
AI and human expert assessment, the safer gambling
software helps sportsbooks and other types of opera-
tors meet and exceed player protection requirements.
The award-winning AI solution GameScanner ensures a
fully automated, early detection of at -risk and problem
gambling, allowing sportsbooks to reach out to sports
fans before unhealthy gambling habits escalate. As
such, Mindway makes a real difference for millions of us-
ers around the world. GameScanner is already running
in nearly 61 jurisdictions in 37 countries boosting sports-
books’ player protection, scanning a total of 7.7 million
active players per month.
Gamified self-test
Gamalyze is an award -winning, gamified reinvention of
the self-test, making self-testing more user-friendly, en-
gaging, and actionable than typical player question-
naires. Gamalyze helps players develop self -awareness
of their risk profile and their decision making when they
engage in gambling. Drawing insights from neuroimag-
ing, Gamalyze analyzes each player’s decision while
they play and generates a report with feedback on the
player’s strategy and their sensitivity to rewards and
losses. It also includes advice tailored to the individual.
Making good use of Mindway
Mindway and Better Collective share common goals for
safer gambling, and while Mindway is run as an inde-
pendent business, we make good use of the expertise
and tools available when offering safer gambling re-
sources on Better Collective platforms.
Gamalyze is available to our users on key websites to-
gether with insightful articles on safer gambling
authored by Mindway experts. We recognize that work-
ing in an environment where gambling is normalized
makes our employees more exposed to gambling and
therefore at a higher risk when it comes to problem
gambling.
Gamalyze is available to all employees , and we remind
everyone at least annually to test their gambling behav-
ior along with training and awareness activities. Fur-
thermore, meeting colleagues across the group, Mind-
way helps to create awareness on safer gambling at in-
ternal events and on Better Collective’s Safer Gambling
Board.
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Governance
At Better Collective, w e believe that corporate sustain-
ability starts with our value system and a principles-
based approach to doing business. This is reflected in
our business ethics where we conduct business in com-
pliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.
We are subject to a variety of national compliance reg-
ulations in the countries where we operate, and to aid in
developing a sustainable iGaming environment we
solely operate in regulated markets or markets where
sports betting is accepted by the authorities.
We seek to develop editorial guidelines, which ensure
balanced and compliant marketing messages and in-
clude proper segmentation for our activities across dif-
ferent channels using marketing technology to avoid
targeting the wrong audience.
Regulation of markets
As sports betting becomes more widespread, more
countries are amending or implementing new gambling
laws and regulations to protect users and to limit black
market activities. We have processes for being continu-
ously updated on regulations and applying for licenses
where relevant. Our in -house legal team is also dedi-
cated to this area, with compliance processes for our
websites.
Commitment to compliance
Better Collective was awarded for its efforts within com-
pliance at the Vixio Global Regulatory Awards for the
fifth consecutive year. We seek to educate regulators,
politicians, and users on what performance marketing is,
what it entails, and to ensure that relevant standards are
set for our industry.
We do not engage in cryptocurrenc y payments. When
partnering with sportsbooks and reviewing acquisition
targets, it is an integrated part of our due diligence pro-
cess to pay careful attention to any signs of money laun-
dering or fraud - in case of which we choose not to en-
gage.
Better Collective discontinued its business activities re-
lated to the Russian market which was predominantly
advertising activities.
Anti-bribery and corruption
Better Collective condemns the acts of corruption and
bribery. Not only are they illegal; they also pose a threat
to our trustworthiness and a risk to our partners, users,
and authorities. Our policy on anti- bribery and corrup-
tion is included in our Code of Conduct and imple-
mented across the Better Collective group. We aim for
0 reported cases of bribery and corruption, including
any behaviors that abuse entrusted power for private
gain in Better Collective. Our whistleblower scheme fa-
cilitates anonymous reporting , and we encourage all
employees, vendors, and shareholders to speak up if
they find something to be in breach of our policies.
During 2023, Better Collective conducted mandatory
anti-corruption training sessions for all employees, cov-
ering topics such as recognizing and reporting corrupt
practices, emphasizing our zero -tolerance policy. Dur-
ing 2023, the group did not receive any reports about
bribery, facilitation payment, or other forms of corrup-
tion nor have we received any other whistleblower re-
ports. Better Collective persistently works to strengthen
its compliance measures by regularly reviewing and up-
dating its anti-corruption policies to align with evolving
laws and best practices.
Code of Conduct
Throughout the group we promote our Code of Conduct
as a guide for all employees to the standards and values
of a compliant and responsible business. The Code of
Conduct also outlines that all employees are to report
on gifts, meals, and entertainment (received and of-
fered) to track and prevent conflicts of interest.
Our efforts within governance advance overall sus-
tained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth
while they also secure full and productive employment
and decent work for our employees - all of which sup-
port SDG 8.
Data ethics report
Better Collective has adopted a data ethics policy in ac-
cordance with Section 99d of the Danish Financial State-
ments Act. This section stands as our data ethics report
for the fiscal year 2023. The data ethics policy outlines a
set of data ethics principles that support ethical deci-
sion-making when using data across Better Collectives
activities. We employ data to provide our users with a
unique and educational experience whenever they visit
our websites and/or engage in our communities. To give
our users the best and most relevant experi ence possi-
ble, we process various categories of data including
user-related data and personal data. In 2023 we estab-
lished a process and governance setup to handle and
evaluate data ethics reporting.
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Environment
Since its inception, Better Collective has
been committed to making responsible
decisions across all operations – this is also
the case when it comes to the group’s
impact on the environment.
It is our long-term commitment to implement a precau-
tionary approach to environmental challenges and min-
imize our carbon emissions. As we are an online busi-
ness, our environmental impact is relatively small. Cli-
mate changes generally pose little risk to our current
and future operations as we have no physical supply
chain, and as such, we can operate almost anywhere.
Still, we aim to minimize our carbon footprint and we are
working towards setting a reduction target. Our envi-
ronmental policy is included in our sustainability policy.
Key emissions factors
Business travel is one of BCs principal sources of carbon
emissions and has a significant impact on our ambition
to lower our carbon footprint. When making travel deci-
sions, the environmental and economic impacts must be
taken into account and weighed against the expected
benefits of meeting in person. The booking principles,
including low-carbon options, are included in the Better
Collective Travel Policy.
Besides travel, server hosting, IT and office equipment,
and food supplies make up most of our carbon intense
procurement. When choosing suppliers, considerations
of environmental factors must be considered . In 2022,
we started including server hosting in our scope 3. Our
range of websites are hosted at data centers with a con-
scious approach to the environment and a significant
purchase of renewable energy.
Garbage with a significant negative environmental ef-
fect (such as batteries, IT equipment, etc.) should be re-
used when possible or disposed of according to govern-
mental recommendations. Old IT equipment, to an in-
creasing degree, is disposed of by a third party based on
environmentally responsible practices (where available)
or re -used for private purposes by employees.
Food
waste should be kept to a minimum. We do so by work-
ing with our caterers and regulating our consumption
daily.
Annual report Page 58
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Social metrics
The data in the following accounts is based
on information registered in and retrieved
from the group’s HR software system.
Better Collective’s continued growth
through M&A activity means that newer
offices and operations are not accounted
for with the same accuracy as the more
long-standing operations.
Average number of full-time work force (FTE)
The average number of full-time employees as stated in
the annual accounts 2023.
Total headcount (HC)
The total headcount by the end of 2023.
Gender diversity
The percentage of the underrepresented gender
(women) in the workforce at the end of 2023.
Gender pay ratio
The gender pay ratio is calculated as the median male
salary divided by the median female salary (the un-
derrepresented gender), per country and collated as a
weighted average for the group. Salaries include pen-
sion and exclude bonus, incentive programs and other
benefits. The 2019 and 2020 figures have been recalcu-
lated.
Employee turnover
Employee turnover is defined as voluntary and involun-
tary leaves (headcount) divided by the number of em-
ployees and converted to a percentage rate. Resigna-
tions and dismissals have been specified and added in
the 2023 reporting.
Sickness absence
The number of sick days for all HCs for the period di-
vided by total HC. Action Network was left out of the
calculations as it was not possible to gather information
on sick days.
Employee engagement and response rate
Based on the average responses to five specified ques-
tions in our better workplace evaluation 2023.
Reported cases of harassment
Based on anonymous reports in our better workplace
evaluation. The nature of harassment is unknown.
Reported workplace injuries
The number of reported workplace injuries as reported
to HR.
Nationalities
Number of nationalities represented in the group.
Corporate income tax
Total income tax for 2023.
In 2023, Better Collective contributed with direct as cor-
porate taxes in more than 15 countries. Corporate tax
payments amounted to 15 mEUR. Better Collective be-
lieves in contributing to the societies and communities
it is do ing business in. One of the ways to do so is
through global tax payments. In all tax matters, the
group acts in a fair, compliant, and responsible way.
Social Unit Target 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
Average number of FTE FTE 1,252 878 635 420 364
Total headcount HC 1,312 949 781 476 428
Gender diversity % 35 31 29 30 30 31
Gender pay ratio Times 1 2 1 1 1 1
Employee turnover ratio % 15 18 17 21 14
- Resignations % 5 12 15 10 9
- Dismissals % 9 6 2 11 4
Sickness absence Days per HC 2 2 1 1 2
Employee engagement % 80 84 83 87 85 -
Employee engagement re-
sponse rate % 80 71 75 91 - -
Reported cases of harassment Number 0 11 11 9 12 -
Reported workplace injuries Number 0 3 0 0 0 -
Nationalities Number 45 43 35 30 30
Corporate income tax mEUR 15.41 16.89 12.60 6.00 5.00
===== SIDA 60 =====
Annual report Page 60
Governance metrics
Gender diversity at the Board
Percentage of the underrepresented gender ( women)
on the Board of Directors elected at the Annual General
Meeting. The Board has a 57% (men) and 43% (women)
consisting of seven members and thereby considered an
equal gender distribution by the Danish Business Au-
thority. The target figure of 40% was reached in 2023.
Board meeting attendance rate
Percentage of Board meetings attended per Board
member including Board Committee meetings (Audit
Committee and Remuneration Committee respectively).
Breaches of customer privacy
Number of complaints for the breach of consumers' pri-
vacy including complaints from official data protection
authorities. Any complaints under investigation will be
included once investigation is finalized.
Reported cases of bribery or corruption
Number of cases reported to HR, in the whistleblower
scheme or otherwise.
Whistleblower reports
Number of whistleblower reports received in 2023.
CEO pay ratio
CEO pay ratio is calculated as the CEO salary including
bonus, pension and warrants divided by the median em-
ployee salary. Note that in 2020, the CEO waived his
base salary in the second quarter in light of the COVID -
19 pandemic impact.
Governance Unit Target 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
Gender diversity, board % 40 43% 33 33 17 20
Board meeting attendance rate % >95 99 99 96 97 100
Breaches of customer privacy Number 0 0 0 0 - -
Reported cases of bribery or cor-
ruption Number 0 0 0 0 - -
Whistleblower reports Number 0 0 0 0 0
CEO pay ratio Times 9 13 10 8 9
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Our carbon emissions
Annual report Page 61
===== SIDA 62 =====