GVC Holdings reported daily net gaming revenues rose 13% in the first quarter and that positive momentum has continued into the second.

Its sports brands, including bwin and Sportingbet saw gross win margin improve to 9.6% in the three months to 31 March from 8.5% in the first quarter a year ago, despite customer friendly results at the end of March.

Daily NGR for sports betting was up by 16% year on year on a pro forma basis, or 19% on an actual basis due to bwin being acquired part way through the quarter last year.

Games brands, including Partypoker, Foxy Bingo and CasinoClub, lifted NGR 4%, with management highlighting the poker brand as most impressive as daily NGR accelerated further.

In the first seven weeks of the second quarter have seen group NGR up 16%, with sports gross win margin up to 10.0% from 9.6% last year and daily sports wagers increasing 10%.

Chief executive Kenneth Alexander said comparatives quarters from last year will get more challenging as the year goes on, particularly in the absence of a major football tournament this summer.

“However, I’m very confident that the combination of continued enhancements to the customer offering combined with a return to more normalised marketing spend will deliver another year of strong progress at GVC.”