Having established itself as one of the leading bricks and mortar casino operators in central and eastern Europe, Estonia's Olympic Entertainment Group became one of the first to enter egaming world following the passing of a new Gaming Act in 2010.
With revenues from land-based operations still yet to recover in the wake of the economic downturn, the company is already reaping the rewards of moving online.
Olympic Casino Eesti AS obtained Estonia’s first licence to operate remote gaming, opening its online casino, Olympic-Online.com in partnership with Playtech in February last year. Remote gaming is now a crucial part of OEG’s strategy for future growth, having seen one of its key markets, the Ukraine, was shut down by the government in 2009.
“I disagree with claims stating that recessions can only create stagnation or even reverse development,” OEG founder and chairman, Armin Karu, told InterGaming. “Last year we entered the online gaming market and, despite tough competition, managed to be successful during our first year.”
Olympic-Online.com supports six different languages and has attracted tens of thousands of players from 60 countries. Through its work with Playtech, OEG is able to offer Estonian poker fans the opportunity to be part of the iPoker network.
Last year, the company earned €1.3m in operating income from remote gaming.
“The most important course for this year is to continue the growth of Olympic-Online.com in the countries we operate in,” Karu continued. “Our primary vision with Olympic-Online.com is providing a great supplement to the markets where our land-based trademark, Olympic Casino, is already well known and trusted.
“In our online operations, we are cooperating with Playtech, which is a leading player in gaming software, while our poker site is part of the world’s largest poker network, iPoker. Strong experience from our land-based casinos is something that we aim to turn into a competitive advantage also in the online business.”
Read our Keynote Interview with Armin Karu of Olympic Entertainment Group in the July issue of InterGaming.
