SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Czech gambling and sports betting operator Fortuna Entertainment Group, have appointed Per Widerstrom, ex Managing Director of Gibraltar based Gala Interactive, as new Chief Executive Officer.
Widerstrom replaces Radim Haluza, who will stay with the operator in an advisory role in order to ensure a smooth corporate transition for Fortuna and its management.
Fortuna Entertainment announced that it had hired Widerstrom in order to grow and optimise its online gaming portfolio and services. During his time with Gala Interactive Widerstrom, had overseen a successful change in digital strategies for Gala Coral brands.
Widerstrom will be looking to establish digital verticals for Fortuna, who have expanded rapidly in the Eastern European sports betting market, having a presence in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.
The company posted earnings (EBITDA) of 26.7 million euros in 2013 – on 567 million euros staked in bets – and expects that to increase by 5-10 percent this year.
Czech-Slovak investment group Penta acquired Fortuna in 2004 and now owns two-thirds of the company after a stock listing. Haluza took the helm at Fortuna in 2012 after running other Penta companies and working as a financial controller and eventually chief financial officer at the investment group.
