Sazka Group Appoints Aleš Veselý As A New CEO

Article by : Helen Feb 8, 2021

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Updated: Apr 6, 2023

Sazka Group is the Czech gambling giant that offers lottery services in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, and Austria. The company has recently announced that its marketing director, Aleš Veselý, is going to take up the post of the Sazka CZ CEO and replace Robert Chvátal. Veselý was appointed as a marketing director in 2013, and since 2018 he has been a deputy chief executive. Before Veselý went along with Sazka Group, he worked as a content and marketing service director in Telefonica O2, the telecommunications business, for seven years.

“Over the last eight years, we have managed to build a modern and entertainment company from a traditional lottery company. Thanks to innovation and online transformation, we can offer a wide portfolio of games that appeals to three-quarters of the adult population in the Czech Republic. My main goal is for Sazka not only to maintain that trend but above all to further develop its long-term strategy as an entertainment company,” said Aleš Veselý.

Veselý will start working on his new position on February 1, and according to his post, he will be in charge of Czech operations. At the same time, Robert Chvátal is appointed as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Sazka Group and will become Sazka CZ chairman. Despite these changes, he will continue managing the company’s international affairs and “keep overall responsibility for driving Sazka’s further growth strategy and regulatory.”

Robert made every effort so that the company became one of the fastest-growing lottery providers in Europe between 2013 and 2016. He is also the First Vice President of the industry association European Lotteries. Robert stated: “I am very glad that I will continue to be part of the Sazka’s team in the role of the Executive Chairman of the Board and drive further strategic decisions, regulatory and international relations of Sazka from this position. At the same time, I am proud that I could help to grow the Sazka Group in four other European countries.”

Currently, the company hasn’t decided who is going to take over as a new Chief Marketing Officer, but this question will be answered in several weeks. The Coronavirus pandemic has also impacted Sazka Group, but Chvátal stated that “businesses traded well in Q3 as lockdown measures were eased and online sales remained high.” He added that lotteries in Austria and the Czech Republic haven’t been badly affected by Covid-19 as far as VLT halls and land-based casinos started to operate by the summer.

With our resilient business and strong management team having coped well with the situation earlier in the year, we are well placed to manage the business through the current restrictions. Our diverse geographic exposure, game portfolio and sales channel mix with a strong and growing online are key advantages in this environment.

The company’s GGR increased by 5%, but NGR fell by 11%, and this decrease is caused by the increase in lottery tax from 23% to 35%. As a result, operating EBITDA dropped as much as 24% in comparison with the third quarter of 2019. Compared to 2018, the company managed to increase its sales by 12% to 14,8 million crowns in 2019.

Sazka Group has recently appointed Justin King to the gaming operator’s advisory board. The company prepares its bid for the National Lottery license in the UK, and King has to work with Keith Mills, who is already leading Sazka’s bid for the lottery license. “A vibrant and growing lottery is the only way to guarantee more funding for good causes, which is crucial for helping Britain to build back better,” King said.