Szerencsejáték Zrt. Enters The Slovakian Sports Betting Market

The Hungarian National Lottery enters the Slovakian gambling market under the brand name betRing, via its local subsidiary. Regional expansion is a key area of the new business strategy of Szerencsejáték Zrt. The first milestone in this effort is the launch of the online sports betting service in Slovakia, says the official press release.

Today the Hungarian National Lottery has entered a competitive, multiplayer market via its subsidiary, following several years of market analysis and research. Under the brand name betRing, SZRT Slovakia has developed and designed its service portfolio with consideration to local market specifics and building upon the experiences of markets with developed betting services and technology. The result: an outstanding betting experience provided by dedicated mobile apps, a loyalty scheme, early cash out and customisable convenience functions. To meet the relevant regulatory requirements, online sports betting on betRing is only available from Slovakian IP addresses and for Slovakian citizens, but it is available both in Slovakian and Hungarian. 

“The growth our company produced previous years was amongst the most dynamic in the region. We now have ample knowhow and capitalisation to expand abroad. Making it to the Slovakian sports betting market is a true milestone for us and may serve as a springboard for a more powerful presence in the region involving multiple countries. This could also set the direction for the business growth of the company.”

– CEO of the Hungarian national lottery Dr. Alex Bozóky revealed.

Late 2018 the Slovakian legislation made it possible for certain types of gambling to grant operating licenses to multiple companies provided they all meet the relevant requirements. These new regulations allowed these new betting agencies to start their operation 1 July 2020. The Slovakian betting market is open for both domestic and international companies. The main criteria for obtaining the licence include a technically audited betting system, meeting all relevant regulatory and financial requirements including paying the relevant licence fees and financial securities. Another pivotal requirement is that the company has to be present in Slovakia through a local branch or subsidiary, and the servers must be located in Slovakia. Slovakia boasts a well developed online sports betting market dominated by three key players but also including various minor service providers throughout the country.

SZRT Slovakia is supporting the launch of their new services by a 360° integrated marketing and communication campaign. It runs for two months and includes advertisements optimised for various Slovakian websites and mobile devices as well as offline interfaces promoting the new online sports betting offers of betRing including ad spots on Slovakian commercial TV channels and outdoor advertisements. The players are offered short video tutorials on registering and how the site works. Also, each new registration receives a so‑called welcome special offer.

“Our goal is to catch up to the three dominant players of the Slovakian market, Niké, Fortuna and Tipsport, as quickly as possible. The primary goal for our product developing process has been to combine the highest possible quality with various innovative products that are new not only in Slovakia but the whole of Europe. We trust Slovakian players will find betRing intriguing, and many of them will register with us.” 

– managing director of betRing operator SZRT Slovakia Miroslav Baranec said.

 The midterm goal for Szerencsejáték Zrt. is to secure at least a 10% share of the Slovakian online sports betting market.

A pivotal part of the midterm strategy of the Hungarian national lottery is to become a modern participant of the international market. By entering the Slovakian market, Szerencsejáték Zrt. takes the next step regarding the product portfolio, organisation and operation.

The company aims to utilise the experiences we have had and will have in the future, on the Slovakian market in every aspect of our everyday business and administrative operation.

For Szerencsejáték Zrt. Slovakia is the first step. As set forth in our business strategy we are monitoring several other – mainly regional – target countries and companies looking for good opportunities to enter these markets via greenfield projects or acquisitions. To aid these efforts a dedicated acquisition group of vested experts was established within the company with the task of implementing the international strategic vision of Szerencsejáték Zrt.

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Source: Press release