Fortuna extends and expands Playtech platform deal
Playtech’s IMS player management system to be used across by all Fortuna Group brands across CEE markets
Fortuna has announced a seven-year extension and significant expansion in its back-end platform deal with Playtech.
The new deal will see Playtech’s IMS player management platform become the core platform used by all Fortuna Group brands across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Croatia.
The partnership was initially signed for two years in 2016 and focused on the Czech Republic and Romania, while the expanded deal will last for a further seven years.
“When we first partnered with Playtech, we stated our aim was to become the leading betting and gaming operator in the CEE region,” said Fortuna CEO Per Widerström.
“Having achieved this ambition, we will continue looking to grow and build our offer further in new and existing regulated markets. Our close partnership with Playtech will continue to be crucial in delivering on this strategy and delivering an industry leading omni-channel approach to our players.”
The operator saw a 93% increase in total stakes to just over €2bn in 2017, driven primarily by growth in online.
The operator’s key markets also enjoyed wider growth, with online gambling in Czech Republic up 15% last year and Poland up 19% in same period.
“This is a significant agreement for Playtech and FEG,” added Shimon Akad, COO, Playtech.
“The extension and expansion of our partnership highlights both the success we’ve had, and the further growth we see ahead.”
Playtech has been in the headlines in recent weeks after activist investor Jason Ader successfully pressured founder Teddy Sagi into selling off his remaining 4.8% stake in the business.
RB Capital co-founder Julian Buhagiar called the sell-off the first stage in an activist agenda that could lead to the sale of non-core assets and sharper focus on the US.
Buhagiar added: “Investors have caught onto this underlying activist agenda; share price is marginally up by 5% over last week. General consensus is to hold; wait and see what the board does with this official notice and observe what other corporate changes take place in the coming weeks.”