Central and Eastern European betting operator Fortuna Entertainment has cited an increase in online betting activity as one of the main reasons behind a year-on-year jump in gross win during the first quarter of 2015.
Gross win for the opening period of the year totalled €35.4 million ($40 million), up 3.7% on the corresponding period last year.
Sports betting was the main source of income during the first quarter, with this division of the business having generated €33.3 million of total gross win.
Fortuna noted that gross win from online betting was up 22.9% on the previous year to €19.9 million, while its retail operations accounted for €13.4 million of the total.
The operator also revealed that the amounts staked by customers jumped 20.2% on a year-on-year basis to €199.3 million.
The majority of stakes were placed on sports events (€194.6 million), with Fortuna’s lottery arm accounting for just €4.7 million of the total.
Despite these increases, Fortuna did note that total earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the first quarter fell 21% year-on-year to €7.4 million.
However, Fortuna noted that this amount is in line with its full-year guidance.
Per Widerstrom, chief executive officer of Fortuna, said: “In the first quarter of 2015, the company continued to deliver strong growth in amounts staked and we accepted €199.3 million of bets, which is 20.2% more than last year.
“The amounts staked grew double digits in all our key markets, primarily driven by the on-line betting growth.
“In terms of gross win, we have, as expected, been negatively impacted by the abolishment of the online handling fee in Slovakia as well as by unfavourable sporting results, mainly in football, in March.”
