Meridian Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MRDN) on Tuesday reported a third-quarter net loss attributable to the company of $13.3 million, or $(1.05) per share, compared with net income of $0.6 million in the same period a year earlier. The loss included $11.5 million in non-cash impairment charges, according to the company's earnings release distributed via NEWMEDIAWIRE.
Revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, fell 3% to $46.0 million from $47.3 million a year earlier. The decline reflected a $2.2 million drop at RKings and Classics for a Cause, partly offset by 2% growth at Meridianbet Group. For the first nine months of 2026, revenue rose 10% to $146.3 million.
The impairments included a $5.5 million write-off of the company's Brazilian gaming license and related intangible assets after Brazil issued Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026 on September 25, prohibiting fixed-odds betting, including online casinos, by all operators. The measure required platforms to go offline and return player balances in early October, terminating existing federal authorizations without reimbursement of fees already paid. A further $5.9 million goodwill impairment was recorded in the reporting unit holding RKings and Classics for a Cause after continued operating losses.
"This was a challenging quarter, impacted by customer-favorable sports results, regulatory developments in Brazil and higher operating costs," said CEO Zoran Milosevic. "Our core business remains healthy and outside one-off adjustments continues to generate cash to drive its own growth."
Meridianbet Group grew revenue 16% to $103.8 million for the nine months, led by online casino revenue up 21% to $46.9 million. In the third quarter, online casino revenue rose 17% to $17.1 million, while online sports betting revenue fell 15% to $8.7 million as customer-favorable results lowered the margin to 7.4% from 8.2%. New registrations rose 25% to 458,680, and customers deposited $101.1 million, up 9%.
Despite the loss, Meridian Holdings generated $17.7 million in operating cash flow for the nine months, up 3% year-over-year, sufficient to fund investments and $9.0 million in debt repayment. Total debt fell 47% to $24.1 million as of September 30, and net debt dropped 65% to $8.1 million, marking a seventh consecutive quarter of deleveraging without raising additional equity capital. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $16.0 million against $7.8 million of bank and other loans.
CFO William Scott said the company reduced debt using internally generated cash and, in September, extended repayment of the remaining $15.6 million owed to former Meridianbet Group owners to November 2031 with no interest. "The extension allows us to keep investing where we are growing," he said.
The company updated its full-year 2026 outlook, now expecting revenue of $195 million to $198 million, assuming it does not resume operations in Brazil this year. It anticipates a modest increase in sports betting revenue in the fourth quarter, historically its strongest, alongside continued online casino growth. The full release is available at www.newmediawire.com.
