Two weeks after the introduction of Internet sports betting in Slovakia, the new product is being called a major success.
Slovakian national lottery company Tipos, a.s. introduced its Internet sports betting service Jan. 10. Within 24 hours, the new site had received more than 100 player registrations, and that number has increased tenfold since then.
The new site, "Tip Kurz" features fixed-odds betting 24 hours a day as well as a bonus system for players. Among wagers offered are numerous long-term stakes, such as the winner of the Ryder Golf Cup 2006 or whether tennis superstar Roger Federer wins all four grand slam titles in '05. The service is available to all citizens of the Slovak Republic (18 years or older) as well as aliens with permanent residency in Slovakia.
Using the system is relatively straight-forward: After registration, the player transfers a desired amount of money from his personal bank account to his "game account." The punter can then place bets according to the game plan. The minimum wager is SKK 20 (0.5 euro); the maximum wager for one bet is limited to the maximum possible winning on the Internet: SKK 100,000 (2,565 euro).
The wager system and winnings are secured by an Internet banking security system. The ability to make payments using Visa and MasterCard (through CardPay service) will be added soon.
The system is registered at the Slovakian Authority for Personal Data Protection and meets all demands for personal data protection required by law. Unique and non-repeating security measures for placing bets online are: login, password and pin code.
Tipos held off on launching Internet gambling services until 2004 because Internet usage in Slovakia hadn't reached levels comparable to other European countries until that time. Slovakia's population as of 2004 was 5,381,200, and the number of Internet users was 1,375,800 (a penetration of 25.6 percent). The user growth for 2000 through 2004 was 111.7 percent. The average Internet penetration in all the 25 member states of the European Union is 45.1 percent (source: Internet World Stats).
Tipos assumes that its new marketing campaign, "KLIKY KLAKY," significantly helped create an interest in online gambling among Slovaks. The company believes that that the continuously developing Slovak market, penetration of Internet and an increasing public interest in electronic services and e-commerce will contribute to increased profits and to the overall success of the online betting project.
Chairman and General Manager Stanislav Ziacik said Tipos is vying to become a standard European lottery company.
"We are trying to implement new innovative games on the Internet and to increase our market share at the same time," Ziacik said. "The new sports betting portal is made for Slovakian players. The principle of online sports betting is similar to that of online number lotteries (eTip)."
Tipos' entrance into the Internet gambling space came with the launch of lottery games at www.tipclub.sk on Nov. 9, 2004. While the lottery site was successful on its own, the launch of Tip Kurz has provided a significant boost to the company's overall Internet sales. Of the 4,000 registrations for Tipos' online gambling services, 1,000 people have registered for Tip Kurz alone.