pawaTech posts $245.7m revenue in 2025 and pays $120.1m in dividends

pawaTech Group recorded revenue of $245.7 million in 2025, up 36% year‑on‑year, with profit after tax of $115.3 million and dividends of $120.1 million paid to shareholders. The UK‑registered owner of the technology behind the betPawa brand reported operating profit of $158.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $196 million for the year; the company said growth came from existing markets and new products, including casino games.

Financial results and key figures

The group's 2025 accounts show revenue rose to $245.7 million from the prior year, an increase of 36%. Operating profit increased to $158.2 million from $135.6 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed to $196 million from $146.7 million. Profit after tax, however, rose only to $115.3 million from $111.1 million, held back by a higher tax charge of $43.9 million, up from $24.2 million.

Administrative expenses nearly doubled to $101 million, while technology and IT spending reached $27.5 million. Foreign exchange losses jumped to $23.1 million, compared with $4.3 million in the prior year. The group closed 2025 with $75.2 million in cash and net assets of $125.2 million.

"When we started in 2014, desktop was irrelevant, and we said, 'We're going straight to mobile,'" said Kresten Buch, pawaTech's founder and executive chairman.

Income sources and operating model

pawaTech licenses the betPawa brand to operators and receives royalties, platform fees and support fees tied to the profits those operators make. The group also provides lending to operators for working capital; those loans stood at $17.1 million at the end of 2025, and the group wrote down $6.17 million of loan balances during the year.

Choplife Gaming, chaired by Nigerian singer Mr Eazi, runs betPawa in eight of the brand's 17 markets: Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Benin, Liberia and Mali. Choplife acquired the Nigerian rights in January 2025 under a four‑year agreement with pawaTech built on an upfront licence fee. betPawa went live in Liberia under Choplife's licence in January 2026, and PMU Mali, the state gaming regulator, approved the brand's launch in Mali in May 2026.

pawaTech said growth derived from both existing markets and new products, including casino games, alongside the group's sports betting offering.

Tax, currency exposure and corporate changes

The group's tax charge rose to $43.9 million in 2025 from $24.2 million a year earlier. The accounts disclose that HM Revenue and Customs is in talks with the group about certain past UK tax filings; the company said the outcome cannot yet be estimated.

Foreign exchange exposure stems from collections in Kenyan shillings, Ugandan shillings, naira, Zambian kwacha, cedis, Tanzanian shillings, Central African CFA francs and Congolese francs, while most pawaTech costs are paid in euros and sterling.

Two subsidiaries were established in Dubai in January 2026 and some Rwandan units are being wound down as part of a change in corporate structure.

Dividends, valuation and ownership

Dividends paid for the year rose more than sixfold, to $120.1 million, compared with $19 million in 2024. A further interim dividend of $62 million for 2026 was paid after the year end. In February 2026 pawaTech issued new shares at £212.15 each, giving the group an implied value of about £374 million ($494 million). The company reported that no single individual, including Kresten Buch, has effective control of the group.

What this means for operators and players

betPawa launched in Uganda in 2014 and expanded to Kenya in 2015, Nigeria and Zambia in 2017, and Ghana and Tanzania in 2018, now operating in 17 markets. In Rwanda, where Choplife runs the brand, gross gambling revenue is taxed at 40%, up from 13%, and Mr Eazi said in September 2025 that Choplife had paid 17 billion Rwandan francs (about $11.7 million) in taxes in Rwanda since 2022. betPawa users in Choplife markets deposit and withdraw only through mobile money, and pawaTech's fee model remains tied to operator profit.

For more on the company's commercial model see the b2b section, and for product changes including casino additions consult our casino coverage.