Fastest-growing market: sporting bets

At least 150 sporting bet agencies have opened since the beginning of the year, on a market put at 100-150 million euros. This is the segment that billionaire Dinu Patriciu relies on, having opened 41 agencies, and planning to reach 150 by the end of the year, while other agencies are operated by Slovaks, British and Serbs.
Whilst 2007-2008 was the period when drugstore chains and bank networks saw an aggressive expansion, a new market of sporting bet agency operators has seen a strong growth over the last two years, despite the current difficult economic context. The leading players say this is a crisis-resistant business because the population will seek to compensate for the income decline by placing bets.
Almost 3,000 sporting bet agencies operate in Romania, with a ZF calculation reveals that around 20-30 agencies have opened since the beginning of the year, both in and outside Bucharest, with companies seeking to have the best possible coverage that will ensure profit.
The investment in opening an agency ranges between 10,000 and 100,000 euros, and is recouped in 1-2 years, with revenues per agency amounting to a few hundreds of thousands of euros per year.