The government made a decision in mid-October to grant the rights to organize betting games to six companies for the next 15 years, renewing licenses for four existing operators, while two new ones are entering the Croatian market for the first time: the Zagreb-based Sretna Kombinacija associated with Favbet group and Superbet Betting and Gaming, part of the Romanian Superbet Group under the American fund Blackstone.
This move comes amid the largest regulatory tightening of the industry to date and brings capital and know-how from global players to a market worth over half a billion euros annually.
Favbet’s entry through Sretna Kombinacija
Sretna Kombinacija d.o.o., established in 2018 in Zagreb, is wholly owned by the Estonian Falcado corporation, but in practice operates as the Croatian branch of the Ukrainian-Maltese Favbet group, an international entertainment-tech company active in several European countries.
The company is currently operating modestly. It ended 2024 with a loss of 296 thousand kuna and negative capital, but with a visible recovery, as revenues from 2022 to 2024 increased nearly sevenfold, from 62 to 440 thousand kuna, and the loss was halved. By obtaining the concession, Sretna Kombinacija is practically exiting the niche of automatic clubs and moving into a significantly more profitable segment of sports betting, for the first time with a clear legal framework for expanding Favbet in Croatia.
At Favbet, the new 15-year concession is seen as a prerequisite for serious long-term planning. Their short-term focus is less glamorous. Surviving the transitional period of the new regime.
Namely, the new Regulation on measures for socially responsible organization of games of chance has prescribed minimum distances for betting shops, casinos, and automatic clubs from schools, kindergartens, and religious facilities (500 meters for casinos and automatic clubs, 200 meters for betting shop payment points), so the entire market is going through a wave of location relocations.
Favbet estimates that it will have to relocate nearly 20 percent of existing locations to meet the new requirements. The largest part of their operational work today is not aggressive expansion, but ‘logistics of survival’, finding new spaces, equipping, and coordinating relocations, with the ambition to at least maintain the existing network and then gradually expand.
Despite the regulatory shock, the company plans to open about ten new branches in the next three years, along with continued investments in business modernization, IT infrastructure, and marketing. Investments are financed through a combination of business revenues and additional owner contributions, and the pace will be adjusted to the dynamics of relocations and growth of the online segment.
Favbet currently employs over 450 people in Croatia. If the market stabilizes, they plan to open about 20 new jobs in the next two to three years, with additional growth depending on how quickly they expand their retail network and online channel.
On the digital side, Favbet positions itself as a technologically flexible player with a strong focus on user experience. They particularly emphasize investments in player protection, personal limits, stake restrictions, and advanced consumption control models as one of the main differentiators compared to the competition. Their strategy is to brand themselves as a ‘responsible’ operator that does not just sell tickets, but also narrates a story about safer gaming and support for sports, fans, and local communities through projects like Favbet Fanzone and club and neighborhood initiatives.
Superbet: Blackstone’s horse for the Croatian market
The second new organizer, Superbet Betting and Gaming d.o.o., is the Croatian branch of the Superbet Group, one of the fastest-growing European betting groups. It is owned by the Cypriot SB Group Ltd, and a key element of the story is the fact that in 2019, the American private equity giant Blackstone invested 175 million euros in Superbet, a capital injection that accelerated international expansion and is now spilling over into Croatia.
Superbet operates in 12 countries and employs over 4,500 people, with main markets in Romania, Belgium, Poland, Serbia, and Brazil. Development centers are located in Zagreb, London, and Bucharest, which places Croatia in a significantly different position than the usual peripheral franchise.
– We would like to emphasize that we have already built a strong technology and product center in Croatia, where we employ over 500 talented professionals. As we transition to a licensed commercial presence in the country, we will initially form an operational team of over 200 people in the first year of activating the license. This team will grow over time, in line with local needs, business priorities, retail expansion, and large campaigns tailored to Croatia.
In Croatia, the group operates through two companies: Superbet Betting and Gaming d.o.o., which holds the concession, and Superbet Services d.o.o., a technology and administrative center with 92 employees. Formally, the Croatian betting company is still in the red, recording a loss of 3.7 million kuna and negative capital in 2024, but these are classic ‘greenfield’ figures, long-term investments in infrastructure and peopleware before commercial startup.
For Superbet, Croatia is, as they say, ‘a market with high potential in the CEE expansion strategy’. They were attracted by a combination of a relatively clear regulatory framework and consumer habits, and they plan to build their entry through an omnichannel approach, which means parallel development of online offerings and retail networks.
Interestingly, Superbet emphasizes that they have actually been investing in Croatia since 2017 and 2018, when they acquired several technology and product studios that were then integrated into the group’s global technology structure. Now, with a license in hand, they are transitioning from the phase of an ‘outsourced’ developer to a full-fledged operator.
Digitally, Superbet positions itself as an ‘entertainment ecosystem’, and alongside sports betting, they emphasize content and social interaction, multiple platforms, and a fully omnichannel experience, from web and app to physical branches.
Tightening the belt as new players enter
The entry of Favbet and Superbet occurs at a time when the state is simultaneously tightening both fiscal and socially responsible frameworks of the industry. Amendments to the Gambling Act and the new Regulation on measures for socially responsible organization of games of chance raise the bar. Mandatory identification of all players in land-based establishments is introduced, a central register of excluded players at HZJZ, stricter supervision regimes, the possibility of revoking the right to organize due to non-compliance with prescribed measures, higher annual fees, and redefinition of taxes are all part of the changes.
At the same time, advertising is restricted, Sunday operations are banned, self-service betting terminals in hospitality are abolished, and strict distance rules from schools, kindergartens, and religious facilities are introduced. For operators, this means one thing: crossing out locations and relocating part of the establishments.
Both new organizers openly admit that their priority is to align the existing or planned network with the new rules. Favbet already estimates that it will have to relocate about a fifth of its locations. Superbet is currently playing it cautiously, claiming that they will plan each location through detailed in-depth analyses and that they will fully adapt to Croatian regulations, but it is clear that without an aggressive offline footprint, there is no serious market share in a market that is still heavily reliant on physical payment points.
Illegal online operators and the gap called Article 44.a
While the state tightens the noose around legal organizers, the black and gray online market continues to relatively quietly sail under the radar. Both new players explicitly warn about the problem of (non)enforcement of Article 44.a of the General Tax Law, which should financially cut off illegal operators by blocking payments. In practice, this is not happening.
A study by the Croatian Association of Game Organizers (HUPIS) from April 2025 showed that nearly half of test payments from Croatian cards to illegal operators went through despite the legal ban, while PaysafeCard payments were successful in all cases. This means that domestic, licensed organizers, who pass all filters, pay taxes, are subject to supervision, and raise player protection standards continue to play a game on a field where part of the competition does not even pay the entry fee.
Favbet and Superbet are actually seeking the same thing. That is for payment service providers to start practically doing what the law already mandates, technically filtering and blocking payments to unregulated organizers, with mandatory reporting and systematic oversight. Otherwise, they claim, the state itself is pushing part of the users towards unregulated platforms while simultaneously reducing its tax revenues.
Player protection
Another major focus of both companies is player protection, not only because regulations require it, but also because without it, the industry simply does not have a social license to grow.
Favbet emphasizes advanced models for limiting deposits, losses, and stakes, the ability to set personal limits, and additional functionalities for recognizing risky behavior. Through educational content and communication, they want to distance themselves from the image of an ‘aggressive bookmaker’ and position themselves as an organizer that equally cares about responsible gaming and user experience.
Superbet goes a step further in a technological sense. As part of its Responsible Gaming policy, it introduces tools for self-exclusion and pausing, reviewing betting and transaction history, strict age verification upon registration, and consistent communication of age restrictions. A key element is the use of Mindway AI, an internationally awarded system for early detection of risky behavior, as well as tools like BetBlocker. Additionally, the company maintains connections with counseling services and support services for individuals with addiction problems, and employees undergo regular training to recognize risky situations.
Both Favbet and Superbet forecast continued growth of the online segment in the Croatian market over the next five years, further tightening of regulations, and possible consolidation, either through acquisitions or joint ventures of large groups in the region.
On one side are domestic heavyweights, SuperSport, Germania, PSK, and others with a deeply rooted network of betting shops and a loyal player base. On the other side are global players with access to huge capital, their own technological platforms, and experience in twelve or more markets, who see Croatia as yet another field for expansion.
The entry of two new organizers with international backing at a time when the state is raising the regulatory bar makes the gambling market one of the most interesting and controversial testing grounds for the relationship between capital, regulation, and social responsibility. If the state truly implements what it has inscribed in laws and regulations, and financial institutions begin to effectively close the taps to illegal operators, the winners will be those who can combine expensive technology, strong brands, and real, not just declarative player protection.
