STS Holding revealed on Monday that it has received a PLN 13.3 million ($3.1 million) dividend related to the performance of tech subsidiary Betsys. The dividend was paid in March to STS SA, a subsidiary of STS Holding SA: the companies are part of the STS Group, one of the largest bookmakers in Central Europe and a leader in the Polish market.
Additionally, the group announced Betsys’ EBITDA in 2021 was PLN 21.8 million ($5.2 million), compared to PLN 14.5 million ($3.4 million) a year ago, which represents an increase of 50.1% on a year-on-year basis.
According to a press statement, the dividend paid to STS SA by Betsys will “ultimately contribute to the financial performance of STS Holding SA,” and will be paid to shareholders in accordance with the group’s dividend policy. STS Holding’s policy is to pay out 100% of standalone net profit.
STS Group’s Betsys operates in the Czech Republic and Poland, and employs well over 100 technology specialists, including developers based in Prague, Brno and Katowice. It is the largest supplier of IT solutions for the bookmaking industry in Central Europe, the group claims. STS SA took control of the Czech company in 2020, and now holds 74% of shares of Betsys.
Betsys provides a full spectrum of sports betting solutions, with a platform that supports mobile, online and retail channels. The group’s goal is the company’s further development as well as building “new competencies in this category,” says STS Holding CEO Mateusz Juroszek.
Polish bookmaking company STS Group was founded in 1997 and is licensed in markets including the UK, from where it offers services in several foreign jurisdictions. It offers a range of betting products including sports betting, esports, virtual sports and online casino.
The group recently reported an increase in key operating data for the record year of 2021: total value of bets placed by customers reached nearly PLN 4.5 billion ($1 billion), considerably up from PLN 3.6 billion ($853.1 million) posted in 2020. This implies year-on-year growth of 25%.
STS Group estimates that NGR -value of bets minus winnings paid and gaming tax- increased to a record approximate PLN 565 million ($133.9 million) in 2021, up 30% from PLN 434 million ($102.8 million) in 2020.
Additionally, by the end of last year, the group found an increase in active users to 693,000 customers from 557,000 in 2020 (up 24%), while the number of guests who made their first deposit increased year-on-year by 21%.
The positive results come as the group continues its implementation of a “mobile-first” strategy based on its proprietary bookmaking system. Investments in the product portfolio and new technological solutions amounted to PLN 27.1 million ($6.4 million) in 2020, a figure that increases year after year.
Betsys’ and STS Group’s year-on-year successful results come as the business prepares to publish its full-year 2021 results on Wednesday. On that date, the group will announce its first set of financial results as a Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) enterprise.
