Tipos, Slovakia’s national lottery company, has revealed that a significant proportion of its lottery and sports betting customers migrated from brick and mortar to internet gaming during the pandemic-hit first and second quarters of 2020.
Tipos spokeswoman Ivana Skokanová said the lottery registered twice as many players as expected to its online facility during the first wave of the pandemic as a result of more players looking to continue to play.
Skokanova said: “The possibilities of entertainment and games on the internet are really wide at the moment. Digitisation has also affected this sphere. Players have moved significantly into the online space, mainly caused by the pandemic.
“As Tipos also offers numerical lotteries and electronic lottery tickets over the Internet, we grew revenue online during the first wave of the pandemic. For example, in the case of online number lotteries, we register up to twice as many players as the plan. We have seen a significant increase in eKasi. In this area, there is a 60% increase in the number of players on Tipos’ web portal compared to the plan.
“Coronavirus has a big impact mainly on sports betting, they have suffered the most. Many sporting events were restricted. Restrictions on the number of people at sports matches have also had a significant impact on fans’ behaviour. So too have they gone into the online space.”
Skokanova stated the increase in players in Tipos’ online space is proof that people did not give up playing games and entertainment even during quarantine. She also added the lottery’s employees are constantly working to improve and make the gaming portal more attractive and safe.
She said: “Our goal is to offer players fun. That’s why we emphasize that our players always find some innovations, new games, bonuses or tournaments on our portal. We also do not forget the security of the internet gambling environment. Tipos holds the WLA-SCS World Lottery Association certificate, according to which our company adheres to the Standard of Safety Management System.”