Fortuna Entertainment’s online betting outshines retail ops

Eastern European betting and lottery operator Fortuna Entertainment Group enjoyed strong growth in its online betting operations in Q1 while retail betting declined.

Fortuna released its Q1 report card on Thursday, which showed revenue of €42.7m in the three months ending March 31, a 12.2% improvement over the same period last year. But expansion costs and punter-friendly results did a number on earnings, which fell 36.3% to €3m.

Total sports betting turnover was up 14% to €281.5m, with online operations reporting double-digit growth while retail betting managed only single-digit growth. Sports betting revenue was up 11.1% to €40m, with all the gains coming online. Digital betting revenue rose 18.5% to €28.3m, while retail revenue fell 3.6% to €11.7m.

Fortuna’s lottery business generated revenue of €1.7m, down 18.6% year-on-year, and the lottery division reported a net loss of €20k for the quarter.