Betfan puts faith in ‘new strategy’ as H1 NGR nears €5m

Betfan has praised the development of its omni-channel network amid positive trading during H1, which saw the bookmaker grow its presence in its local market. 

The Polish omni-channel bookmaker, headquartered in Warsaw, reported a 26% year-on-year increase in NGR to €4.7m (H1 2022: €3.5m), generating a profit of €800,000.

Revenue and profit were driven by an 8% increase in overall turnover for the bookmaker to €48m (€44m), with online betting representing 98% of total activity as the firm noted an investment focus in this area in 2023.

Betfan CEO, Łukasz Łazarewicz, said: “In 2023, we have been operating according to a new strategy that is already bringing measurable results. 

“The dynamics of the total turnover, after deduction of bonuses and “free bets”, exceeded 10% in the first half of the year and our NGR has been growing even faster. In the first quarter, it increased by 23% and in the second by 44%. 

“This shows the high effectiveness of the introduced changes. As an e-betting company, we put emphasis on constantly improving our product and the customer experience.”

Betfan’s investment in its mobile offering culminated in the launch of a new iOS and Android product in H1, which the firm states is indicative of its business transformation from a “marketing-oriented organisation to a technology-oriented one”.

The firm has detailed plans to continue investment in this area – however, although online betting accounted for the vast majority of turnover, Betfan is also continuing investment in its retail network. 

This has seen the development of a betting terminal network, with over 100 rolled out by the end of June and 30 more planned. Both turnover and NGR for this segment increased by 161% and 228% at the close of H1.

Lastly, Betfan also cited the ‘new strategy’ referenced by Łazarewicz, which saw a 76% increase in conversion from registration and in user activity, whilst the group’s overall customer base in June 2023 grew to become 37% higher than in June 2022.

Complementing its B2C betting operations, the company has also launched an affiliate programme and signed ‘unique media partnerships with market leaders’, such as an esports deal with Poland’s biggest betting firm, STS, in place since 2021.

Łazarewicz concluded: “We want the Betfan website and the app to be even more engaging, intuitive and fast. We have built solid internal competences in this area and we rely less and less on external partners. 

“We want to actively listen to users because it is for them that we build our product. At the same time, we pursue a prudent customer acquisition policy, with targeted marketing, based on analytics, without the industry-wide artificial boosting of bonuses. The result is a high net profit in the first half of this year worth PLN 3.75m.”

As of November last year, Betfan was the third biggest bookmaker in Poland, with 2021 full year profits behind market leader STS and second-place Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG) at €765,919.

The Polish market may be due for a major shakeup this year, however, as multinational betting and gaming giant Entain has agreed to acquire STS as part of its expansion strategy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).