Consolidated operating EBITDA also increased by 37%, to a total of €197m, while adjusted EBITDA was up 32% to €207m.

Consolidated profit after tax decreased by 33% year-on-year to €48 million.

Sazka said this was impacted by a €54m restructuring provision at Casinos Austria AG (CASAG), in which the company acquired an additional 17.19% stake in June. Sazka now holds a 55.48% stake in the casino company.

For the nine months to September 2020, gross gaming revenue totalled €1.42bn, a rise of 4% year-on-year. Excluding the purchase of CASAG shares, the company’s GGR decreased by 18% year-on-year – something Sazka attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adjusted EBITDA was €375m for the period, up 15% from 2019 levels, while profit after tax amounted to €90m, a rise of 58%. Again, excluding CASAG, profit actually fell by a total of 50%.

The operator said that despite restrictions impacting its land-based businesses in H1, bsusiness was allowed to recover in Q3 after limits eased. However, Sazka’s land-based business in Greece and Cyprus currently remains closed as a result of lockdowns.