NetEnt ventures into Lithuania
NetEnt has launched into a new regulated market through a partnership with Lithuanian betting company TOP sport, and has refused to rule out further deals in a country it claims has “great potential”.
Following successful technical integrations, NetEnt has launched a selection of its game portfolio with TOP sport, the largest betting company in Lithuania.
Henrik Fagerlund, managing director of NetEnt Malta and chief product officer of NetEnt, told iGamingBusiness.com that entering and expanding the company’s business in regulated markets is a “key part” of NetEnt’s strategy moving forward.
He said: “Since the regulation of the Lithuanian market for online gambling in 2016 the market has matured and we see great potential for Lithuanian players taking a liking to our games.”
TOP sport commenced operations in 2002 as the first betting company to be established in the Baltic state. Fagerlund (pictured) said: “TOP sport is the largest betting company in Lithuania and we are proud to partner up with them and they represent a great opportunity for us to showcase our products to Lithuanian players.
“We’re sure that players will love our games and I won’t rule out that we’ll be working with more Lithuanian operators in the future.”
In July, recently-appointed NetEnt CEO Therese Hillman insisted the developer was “taking action” after a slowdown in the UK contributed towards disappointing revenue growth in the second quarter.
In a trading update, NetEnt reported a 6% rise in revenue year-on-year to SEK437m (£39m/€44m/$51m) – a 0.8% decline in euro terms – while earnings before tax grew by a modest 1.2% to SEK149m.
At the time, Hillman, who was appointed in May, said she was confident that NetEnt’s game portfolio would be better in the second half of the year, adding that it had a “good line-up” of new customers to launch in Q3 and Q4.
Commenting on the prospect of further deals outside of Lithuania, Fagerlund said today (Tuesday): “We know that we have a strong position in the industry and we continuously hold talks with operators on new markets as well as markets where we’re already present. I’m sure you’ll hear more news from us in the near future.”