eGaming Review January 2015 | Page 11

/ THE BRIEFING / NEWS AUSTRIAN ANGLE AU S T R I A NETHERLANDS Online casino firm Mr Green said it remains committed to the Austrian egaming market despite an ongoing tax dispute in the country, after reporting an impressive 35% hike in third quarter profits. The operator reported EBITDA of SEK42.4m (£3.6m) for the three months ended 30 September, up more than a third on last year’s figure, as quarterly revenues jumped by 36% to SEK168.5m (£14.5m). And Mr Green’s group CEO Mikael Pawlo said the firm intends to continue its “strategically important” push away from its native Nordic markets and into regulated Western and Central European jurisdictions, with Austria cited as a particularly “attractive market”. The news comes despite an ongoing row over a contested tax liability in Austria, where Mr Green faces a bill of around SEK100m. CZECH REPUBLIC GETTING A GRIP Fortuna has upgraded its 2014 S PA I N ON THE UP I TA LY Italy’s regulated online gaming market continued its recent resurgence during October as its casino and sportsbook verticals both posted double-digit year-on-year growth in gross gaming revenues (GGR). According to figures seen by eGaming Review, casino cemented its place as Italy’s premier vertical after posting a 13% rise in GGR for the month to €22.5m – its best monthly performance so far this year. W W W. E G R M A G A Z I N E . C O M EUROPE UPDATE N E W S EGAMING UPDATES BY COUNTRY outlook after group EBITDA for the first nine months of the year grew 21% to €22m following rapid growth in its online sportsbook. Gross win from its online sportsbook increased by more than a third (34%) year-on-year to €48.4m, approximately half of its total gross win for the period, while total group stakes grew 21% to €491.6m. The operator strengthened its grip on the Austrian market with a 37% market share, however CEO Radim Haluza cited the growth of its online business in the Czech Republic as one of the company’s stand-out performances of the year. 9