Amsterdam - Fortuna zakłady bukmacherskie obtained permission from the Polish Minister of Finance to operate 80 new betting shops. Most of them were previously owned by Tipsport PL – a company controlled by TIPSPORT a.s. The acquisition enables Fortuna to expand its retail network in Poland to 474 shops and become the biggest Polish betting operator by the number of betting outlets. In January, Fortuna zakłady bukmacherskie also became the first bookmaker in Poland that obtained a license to offer on-line betting on www.efortuna.pl.

„Development of our retail network is one of the main goals in our strategy. Though on-line betting in Poland has been growing rapidly, the retail network including both our own betting shops as well as franchise outlets remains a significant distribution channel for Fortuna in Poland. Retail network provides an important support to on-line betting – the on-line customers may use all the services offered in our shops” – said Jan Stefanek, CEO of Fortuna zakłady bukmacherskie.

The Ministry of Finance granted Fortuna the permission to offer bets through 80 new betting shops and extended licence for providing services through 54 other outlets, for which the license was to expire soon.

„We focus on providing the most exciting offer to Fortuna´s Polish clients for such a great sport events as EURO 2012 and the Summer Olympic Games in London. We have developed our betting platform to give users full 24/7 accessibility, no matter where they are. Since January 25^th, our clients can also bet via Internet through computers and mobile phones” – added Jan Stefanek.

In the second half of April 2012 the new Fortuna betting shops will be rebranded according to the company corporate identity and begin operations under Fortuna zakłady bukmacherskie brand.