Sazka released its economic and financial results for 2009

The proportion of the Internet to odds bet stakes exceeded 80%. The overall payments for lottery and non-lottery products received at Sazka terminals reached us$ 964.5 billion last year, us$ 4.3 billion of which were revenues from betting and lottery activities while us$ 528.9 billion were payments for non-lottery services, i.e. particularly the mobile phone top-up service; sales of tickets for sports, cultural and other events; payments by paying-in slips, invoice and insurance payments; or payments for services and goods ordered over the Internet.
 
Last year, Sazka paid out more than us$ 228.1 million in prizes, up 9.8% y/y; 73 players won amounts in excess of us$ 51,858, with 28 of them having won more than us$ 518,581. The highest prize – of us$ 4.1 million – was won in the Sportka number lottery. The highest prize paid out in the Šťastných 10 (Lucky 10) game was us$ 2 million.

In spite of the rising share of games with higher prize payouts and the increase in the prizes paid out, which make up the largest share of costs, earnings after tax exceeded the us$ 64.8 million mark by almost us$ 20,7 million, and were at the 2008 level.

In January 2009, the firm launched the Sazka TIP Internet odds bets, which were complemented with live bets in December 2009, enabling clients to bet on selected sporting events while they are still in progress. In November 2009, Sazka launched the Klub Sazka loyalty scheme.

According to the November 2009 study by the European Brand Institute, which looked into more than 3,000 firms from 24 European countries, Sazka is the most valuable brand in the Czech Republic. Since 1956, Sazka has contributed more than us$ 1.4 billion to good causes and paid out almost us$ 4.9 billion in prizes to players.

Shareholders of Sazka, which is the largest non-governmental provider of funds to good causes, include civic associations active in sport and physical education. SAZKA is a regular member of international lottery organisations, the World Lottery Association and the European Lotteries.

The company has signed the European Lotteries’ Code of Conduct on Sports Betting and the Code of Conduct Concerning the Use of Information Society Services for the Distribution of Gambling Services; it has also signed the Social Responsibility Declaration and the Code of Conduct of the Association of Odds Betting Operators of the Czech Republic.