Fortuna Entertainment Group, the leading Central European fixed-odds betting operator recorded total Gross Win of EUR 55.1 million in the first half of 2012, which is 15.2% more compared with the same period last year. Amounts Staked of EUR 229.1 million are 9.6% better than in the first half of 2011. Fortuna outperformed in Poland – total Amounts Staked came to EUR 32.9 million, 31.1% more than in 2011.

“We maintain the double-digit growth in Gross Win and also increased turnover significantly. Good results in all markets were driven by online betting, especially during EURO 2012 where we recorded sales growth of 25% on Euro 2008 and delivered a very robust margin of 20%,” said Wilf Walsh, Chairman of the Management Board of Fortuna Entertainment Group. “Despite the lack of an online gaming offer coupled with a punitive tax regime for legal domestic operators, we still enjoyed great success with our recently launched online business in Poland which has become the, fastest growing market in Fortuna’s portfolio.”

Group Results Overview

In the first half of 2012, Fortuna recorded total Amounts Staked of EUR 229.1 million, 9.6% more than in the first half of 2011, according to the consolidated unaudited financial results. The Amounts Staked performance was positively influenced by online sport betting growth in the Czech Republic and Poland, by EURO 2012 championship which took place in June 2012 in Poland and Ukraine and by the contribution of the Czech lottery segment.

The Amount Staked from sports betting reached EUR 219.1 million in the first six months of 2012, 5.2% more than in the same period in 2011. The growth was highest in the Czech Republic and also in Poland, triggered by the introduction of regulated online betting in January this year and by the acquisition of 80 new retail outlets most of them owned by Tipsport PL. In the negative, the level of accepted bets in the first half of 2012 declined in Slovakia, due to the limits imposed on a number of high rolling individuals which impacted the annual comparison. EURO 2012 football championship hosted by Poland and Ukraine in June 2012 contributed to high level of accepted bets.

The Amounts Staked from lottery bets totalled EUR 10 million in the first half of 2012. The Amounts Staked from sold scratch tickets amounted to EUR 2.5 million and from numerical lottery games EUR 7.5 million. The numbers cannot be compared on year-on-year basis.

In the first half of 2012, Gross Win came to EUR 55.1 million, an increase of 15.2% compared with the same period in 2011. Gross Win from online betting in the first half of 2012 increased to EUR 17.8 million, a gain of 21.8% over the same period in 2011. Gross Win from retail betting in the first half of 2012 amounted to EUR 32.4 million, just 1.3% less than in the previous year. The decline in retail betting was greatest in the Czech Republic while in Poland the Gross Win from retail betting went up. Gross Win from lottery amounted to EUR 5 million in the first half of 2012, of which EUR 877 thousand came from the scratch cards and EUR 4.1 million from the numerical games.

In the first half of 2012, the Company recorded total revenues in the amount of EUR 48 million, 14.7% more than in the previous year. Of this, revenue from sports betting amounted to EUR 43.1 million and went up 3.8% yoy. Revenues from the lottery amounted to EUR 5 million in the first half of 2012.

Group’s EBITDA of Fortuna amounted to EUR 10.1 million, by 14.7% less than in the first half of 2011. Out of this, EBITDA recorded by the sports betting segment reached EUR 13.1 million and therefore increased 2.3% yoy despite a strong negative impact of higher betting taxation in the first half of this year. EBITDA of lottery segment reached a negative number of EUR (3) million and is fully in line with the Company’s forecasted plan. Expenses relating to the lottery were the major contributor to the negative EBITDA recorded.

Czech Republic Sports Betting

The sports betting in the Czech Republic generated 51.8% of total Amounts Staked for the Company in the first half of 2012, similar figure to the 52.9% share reached in the first half of 2011. Total Amounts Staked came to EUR 118.7 million, 7.3% more than in the first half of 2011. Gross Win in the Czech Republic sports betting amounted to EUR 22.7 million in the first half of 2012, 3.7% more than in the previous year. This growth was driven primarily by the online expansion; Gross Win from the online segment hiked by 28.1% yoy and amounted to EUR 10.2 million. On the negative, Gross Win from retail betting in the Czech Republic declined 10.3% yoy and totalled EUR 12.5 million.

Czech Republic Lottery

The Czech Republic Lottery represented a 4.4% share of total Amounts Staked. Total Amounts Staked from lottery came to EUR 10 million, of which numerical games were EUR 7.5 million and scratch tickets EUR 2.5 million. Gross Win in the Czech Republic Lottery amounted to EUR 5 million in the first half of 2012, of which numerical games reached EUR 4.1 million and scratch tickets EUR 0.9 million. Gross Profit from lottery in the Czech Republic was EUR 3.7 million. Gross profit margin from the sale of scratch tickets in the Czech Republic equalled 19.9% and from numerical games 42.4% in the first half of 2012. The Czech Republic Lottery included in the first half of 2011 only results from the sale of the scratch tickets for less than 2 months, therefore the numbers cannot be compared on annual basis.

Slovakia

The share of Slovakia with regards to total Amounts Staked in the first half of 2012 came to 28.5%, a drop from the 34% share recorded in the first half of 2011.

Total Amounts Staked came to EUR 65.2 million, 7.3% less than in the first half of 2011. Gross Win in Slovakia amounted to EUR 15.6 million in the first half of 2012, 3.5% less than in the same period of the previous year. Gross Win from online betting was EUR 6.3 million, 4.6% less than in the same period of the previous year. Gross Win from retail betting in Slovakia went down by 2.8% yoy and totalled EUR 9.3 million. This is primarily down to the declining private consumption in Slovakia, the loss of a handful of large staking high rollers and to the fact that Slovakia did not qualify for EURO 2012 championship. Hence, the interest of customers in this event was smaller than in the neighbouring countries. The recorded Gross Win from sports betting in Slovakia was also reduced by higher licence fees paid to the state which increased in September 2011 from 5% to 5.5%.

Poland

Poland accounted for a 14.4% share of total Amounts Staked in the first half of 2012, a solid increase if compared with a 12% share in the same period of 2011. In the first six months of 2012, total Amounts Staked recorded in Poland came to EUR 32.9 million, 31.1% more than in 2011. This makes Poland the fastest growing market in Fortuna’s portfolio. Thanks to the introduction of online sports betting in Poland at the end of January 2012, EURO 2012 championship which was co-hosted by Poland and the acquisition of 80 new retail outlets from Tipsport PL, Fortuna has been able to avert the declining trend of accepted bets from previous periods. However, the betting tax in Poland still remains high and clearly discriminates the regulated domestic sports betting versus offshore betting.

Gross Win from betting in Poland increased to EUR 11.9 million in the first half of 2012, an increase of 27.2% yoy.

EURO 2012 Summary

In June and July 2012, Poland and Ukraine hosted EURO 2012 football championship which is typically one of the most significant events in the sport betting world and as such, it may impact the financial performance of Fortuna on one-off basis.

The Amounts Staked on EURO 2012 reached almost EUR 17 million, out of which more than

EUR 4.7 million (28%) was accepted in Poland, almost EUR 8.4 million (49%) in the Czech Republic and approximately EUR 3.9 million (23%) in Slovakia. If compared to the last EURO football championship in 2008, the total Amounts Staked increased approximately by 25%.

The share of online bets was biggest in the Czech Republic with 42% of EURO 2012 bets coming through internet, followed by Slovakia (38% via online) and Poland (solid 14.2% bets through internet). Even though the share of online bets was the lowest in the Polish market, it stands for a good reset as the online has been available in the market for five months only.

In terms of Amounts Staked, the tournament was record breaking for Poland when for the first time in Fortuna’s history Polish customers bet more on a major sport event than their Slovak counterparts. The bigger share of Poland and the Czech Republic (both having their teams playing in EURO 2012) on total Amounts Staked reflected the fact that Slovak national team did not qualify to the tournament.

As there were only minor surprises in results with by and large predictable outcomes, Fortuna paid-out record winnings which amounted almost to a 14 million EUR. This represents more than a 30% increase when compared to EURO 2008 tournament. The total Group’s Gross Win from EURO 2012 was approximately EUR 3.3 million and the Gross Win margin approximately 20%, a respectable performance compared to Fortuna’s European peer group especially competitors with supporting online casino/gaming offers.

Apendix – Selected financial figures