Although the Czech Republic has taken an early blow in the 2026 World Cup, Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG) still has a lot to be excited about as the biggest show in global football moves on.
In the latest entry in SBC News’ World Cup Betting Tour, we spoke with Myke Foster, Group Head of Gaming and Commercial Strategy at FEG, a Czech-based business with an international profile across nations like Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and Romania.
The World Cup is a big event for FEG not just from a trading perspective but also from a marketing one – the firm is a partner of the Czech and Croatian national teams, and patriotic spirits around the two nations will be crucial for its brand this summer.
SBC News: Just how important is the World Cup to the betting industry in markets like the Czech Republic, not just from a business standpoint but from a cultural one too?
Myke Foster: We’re actually set for a huge summer in the Czech Republic thanks to their qualification, but it could have been a different story. It took two (very nerve-wrecking) sets of penalties to see us creep past Ireland & Denmark and book a place in the finals.
The World Cup, and other major tournaments, are real landmark moments for us – where we see a big influx of new, returning, or seasonal customers – who may not engage with us or our industry regularly, so we have to make sure that we present the best version of our brand and our product throughout the build up and execution of the tournament.
But more than just the pure business element, there’s a wave of excitement and emotion across every country during an event like this, and we absolutely want to position ourselves as a key part of that.
Expectations from both Czech and Croatian fans will be high this summer, and we really hope they can deliver!
What are your personal best memories of watching the World Cup, either memories relating to your country or others that stand out for you personally?
Many of my best World Cup memories come from Qatar 2022, which I travelled to with my Dad. I’m very fortunate to have experienced a lot of international tournaments, but Qatar will always stand out as the most fun, accessible and welcoming.
I have never seen a group of fans as emotional as the Saudi Arabian travelling support were when they beat Argentina 2-1- and rightly so! I’d love to tell you that I have swathes of fond memories of the England team, but a 0-0 draw with the USA in Doha might tragically be the highlight.
As for my worst? Vuvuzelas. I can still hear them!
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The Czech Republic’s World Cup campaign got off to a dramatic start yesterday at the Estadio Guadalajara, with the country’s captain Ladislav Krejčí scoring the opening goal of the game to give fans some early hopes.
South Korea came from behind to win 2-1, however, with a 67th minute goal from midfielder Hwang In-Beom before an 80th minute goal from striker Oh Hyeon-Gyu got the victory in the bag.
The Czech Republic’s next game is against South Africa on Thursday 18 June, and if they lose they will be out of the tournament. The team has a proud footballing history, however, being World Cup runners up twice and European champions once, and fans likely won’t let them forget it next Thursday….
Do you find that patriotic betting is often a big player behaviour trend for FEG customers in the Czech Republic and elsewhere?
Betting on your own team has always been a source of contention – personally, I don’t do it because I support West Brom and I’ve never felt particularly keen on going bankrupt- but there are plenty who do. Fortunately for me, and plenty of others out there, the dawn of Bet Builder style markets have made it possible to have a wager on the game without needing to jinx the result.
This World Cup leans into those player and match prop markets, given that there are simply so many teams and players who really aren’t household names – I think it’ll be a lot easier to track corners & cards than it will be to find a few correct goalscorers or match winners this summer! We’ve got a great new Bet Builder tool in our product at FEG and so I’m sure customers will spend plenty of time there this summer.
What about player markets? Which players are Czech bettors expecting to have the biggest impact this year, from what you’ve seen in trading?
Czech hopes are likely to be pinned on two players – Patrick Schick & Tomas Soucek – both capable of scoring a few goals, and both regular penalty takers, so I’d expect them to be big positions for us in every game this summer. Hopefully Tomas’ World Cup is a little more successful than his Premier League season with West Ham anyhow…
As a multinational business, how much of a challenge is it to make sure World Cup marketing teams properly connect with different national audiences?
It’s absolutely key to connect with your audience in whatever your headline campaign is for a tournament such as this. In a sea of similar adverts, offers & products – what are you trying to be famous for?
It needs to be incredibly clear and consistent from all of your customer touchpoints, and be given enough time to work its way into customer minds before the World Cup is over, all too soon.
There’s a few added challenges with a group like FEG though – we have to create campaigns which are effective across different audiences and markets in CEE/SEE where we operate- and also in markets like Czechia & Croatia – who have a team qualified for the tournament, but also our other GEO’s, who will be watching, of course, but don’t have a national team to cheer on.
Luckily we have a lot of great marketing minds across the business to deliver this and it doesn’t fall to us operations types!
For European betting companies, hype of the 2026 World Cup comes with baggage, however. First and foremost is taxation. At a time of economic stagnation across the world, governments are desperate for revenues, and the betting sector has presented a lucrative tax source.
In Fortuna’s case, the group has had to contend with Romania tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR) increasing from 21% to 27%, a 30% rate on GGR in Slovakia, and a whopping 50% rate in Poland, among other key markets.
Fortuna, along with other major betting firms, noted ahead of the World Cup that these taxes would bite into marketing budgets, and could seriously affect customer acquisition efforts.
Another concern is, as is commonplace across Europe right now, how the industry can compete against an increasingly aggressive black market.
There’s been a lot of talk about tax raises across Europe over the past year. Has this affected FEG’s marketing budgets at all, and how have you factored this into your plans?
We have absolutely not been spared the challenge of additional taxation in recent history. Romania, Montenegro & Slovakia have all seen significant taxation change in the past 12 months- and whilst changes weren’t necessarily as drastic as markets like the UK saw earlier this year, they clearly impact our ability to invest into both marketing, and our customer proposition.
Fortunately, our brands exist in fully-regulated markets, so at least there is a level playing field between us and our key competitors when challenges like this come our way, and we can still compete effectively across all products. The important thing for me is to deliver and maintain a product that customers actually enjoy using. Everything should ladder up to that, we have so little to differentiate in this industry outside of player experience, so we try to keep it core to everything we do.
To wind things up, what do you think FEG’s overall experience of the World Cup is going to be, both in the Czech market and elsewhere?
This is truly going to be a World Cup unlike any other. From ticketing scandals to 2am kickoff times, it’s a very different proposition to the last few international tournaments we’ve enjoyed. One thing is for sure though- Czech & Croatian fans are fiercely patriotic, and they’ll be there in front of a TV, regardless of when the game takes place.
Across all of our markets we’re looking forward to seeing huge numbers of customers joining or returning to FEG brands, so we can let them get their hands on our new and improved products- and we’ve spent the last few years getting ourselves ready- so we’ll make sure it’s a success. I do believe this will be a World Cup which really sees a boom for markets and products outside of 1×2 football though- lots of one-sided games and unknown quantities, so I’m looking forward to seeing how customers get stuck in.
