STS to Leave UK, Estonian Markets

This week Polish-based betting firm STS Group announced that they'll be leaving the Estonian and UK gaming markets to focus on their native market.

The company made the decision despite record revenues last year, noting that the long-term success for the company will be best guided by focusing on Poland moving forward. STS currently operates sportsbetting brands in both the UK and Estonia, with eSports, traditional sports, and virtual sports products offered by the company.

The company said that handle from gamblers increased 4.2% in 2022 to PLN4.68 billion, while gross gaming revenue was up 9.2% to PLN1.09 billion. Net gaming revenue also increased to PLN663 million, while EBITDA was PLN275 million. STS attributed this growth to a strong fourth quarter of the year, which saw the World Cup take place. The group said that they recorded 154,000 new first-time depositors during the quarter, up from 60,000 in 2021.

As STS heads into 2023, they'll be working on the Polish market, which, according to the company shows that it is in the growth phase for sportsbetting.

Regarding the change STS Holdings President Mateusz Juroszek said, "Operating data for last year clearly show that the domestic market is in a growth phase, despite the extremely difficult macroeconomic environment - the war in Ukraine, high inflation and economic stagnation.

"Since the beginning of this year, we have been focusing our activity exclusively on Poland. Our goal for the difficult year 2023 is greater efficiency of operations and a number of implemented savings.

"The new agreement with the Polish Football Association, focus on the Polish market and a number of synergies resulting from changes in the structure of the Group will positively affect our profitability and facilitate further EBITDA growth."

No end date for the two foreign markets was given as of press time.