Poland’s leading betting operator STS is blazing a new trail by becoming the first domestic bookmaker to pursue international expansion.

On Friday, STS chairman Mateusz Juroszek held a press conference to announce that his company was launching online sports betting, casino, virtual sports and eSports operations – on a new BetConstruct platform – in multiple European markets under licenses obtained from regulators in Malta and the UK.

Juroszek said his company would look to target expatriate Polish communities in those target markets. Juroszek believes that “the awareness of our brand among these people is extremely high,” offering his company a “significant competitive advantage.”

STS is focusing on 11 European markets, including the UK, Germany and Norway. The UK online market has proven a tough slog for new entrants, but Juroszek claims STS’ brand recognition among the UK’s estimated 1m people of Polish descent is on par with local bookmaker William Hill. “We are a Polish company that Poles know.”