STS named number one in Poland’s sports betting market
2020 results confirm country’s largest sports betting company as region’s market leader
Sports betting firm STS has been named the largest bookmaking company in the Polish market following a year-on-year increase in market share. Fortuna has been named runner-up, with forBet in third place, as reported by Stowarzyszenie Graj Legalnie (Association for the Elimination of Black Economy Betting in Poland).
Revenue, as well as the amount of tax contributed by the sector, would be higher were it not for companies operating in the grey market. Graj Legalnie estimates that these account for several dozen per cent of the market.
STS is the largest sports betting company in Poland. Led by Mateusz Juroszek, the company already controls 45.8% of the licensed part of the sector, an increase of 0.9% on 2019. The sports betting company has also recorded an increase in revenue, from PLN 3.08bn to PLN 3.319bn.
Graj Legalnie estimates that the number two company, Fortuna, recorded a slight decrease in revenues from PLN 2.1bn to circa PLN 2bn. The company also saw its market share drop from 30.9% to 27.8%. Third-placed forBET recorded 6.6% of the market, an increase of 0.6% on 2019.
Other legal sports betting businesses in the ranking are Betclic (4.2% of the market vs 1.7% YoY), LV Bet (2.7% vs 3.5% YoY), Betfan (2.6% vs 1.6% YoY), Totolotek (2.3% vs 4.5% YoY), Totalbet (2.2% vs 1.6% YoY) and eToto (2% vs 2.2% YoY). Other players control the remaining 3.7% of the market.
The full list:
| Sports betting company | Market share in 2020 (%) | Market share in 2019 (%) |
| STS | 45.8 | 45.1 |
| Fortuna | 27.8 | 30.9 |
| forBet | 6.6 | 6.0 |
| Betclic* | 4.2 | 1.7 |
| LV Bet | 2.7 | 3.5 |
| Betfan* | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Totolotek | 2.3 | 4.6 |
| Totalbet | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| eToto | 2 | 2.2 |
| Other | 3.7 | 2.9 |
*As Betfan and Betclic were not operating at the beginning of 2019, their results may not be completely accurate.
COMMENTARY: Katarzyna Mikołajczyk, president of the Graj Legalnie Association
2020 was a very subversive year for the sports betting industry. After a promising beginning, the second quarter brought the lockdown of global sport. The most flexible companies with a diversified portfolio and well-developed produce and technology were able to make up for the losses incurred during those months. The best example of this is the market leader, STS. Despite a decline in revenues in the second quarter, the company achieved at the end of 2020 a result better than in the previous 12 months.
The pandemic has also affected its local betting shops, most of which have been closed during the lockdown. After reopening, traffic at many of these locations did not return to pre-pandemic levels, and some customers moved to the online channel. Totolotek did not manage to cope in this difficult situation and recently announced the closure of all of its local betting shops. It was the leaders who made it.