Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG) has introduced ‘quarters’ to its football betting offering for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The operator claims to be “probably” the first bookmaker in the world to launch the concept in the context of football betting, facilitated by the controversial hydration breaks held around the midpoint of each match half.
Dubbed a “betting revolution” on LinkedIn by FEG’s Poland sportsbook executive Maciej Nowak, users of the Prague-headquartered company’s Fortuna brand can now wager on the stats for each ‘quarter’, akin to basketball or American football, such as who ‘wins’, goals scored and shots on target.
The operator provided examples of odds for Brazil to win the first ‘quarter’ against Group C opponents Haiti on 21 June (Central European Time) and for two or more goals in the first ‘quarter’ of that match.
The three-minute-long breaks were introduced by FIFA at this year’s tournament, which is being held in the US, Canada and Mexico, to protect players in high temperatures, yet critics say it interrupts the flow of the matches and is an excuse to broadcast adverts to TV audiences in the US.
As of Friday 19 June, ‘quarters’ are also live on FEG-owned PSK, limited on Romania-facing Casa Pariurilor, and not currently available on recently acquired Montenegrin operator Lob.
Dieter John, FEG Group CEO, commented: “This shows exactly how we operate at FEG. The idea came up during a match, we picked it up the next day, and within days it was live.
“That kind of speed only works when you have strong teams and clear ownership. It’s a simple concept, but it can have a big impact, and we’re proud to be among the first to bring it to market.”
Nowak added: “The idea was born in real time. During the England versus Croatia match, a commentator mentioned that the Americans had come up with the concept of splitting a football match into four parts.
“Basketball is one of my favourite sports, so it immediately clicked – for the first time in history, we were looking at quarters in football.
“At FEG we run daily operational morning meetings throughout the World Cup, so the very next day we kicked off the implementation. From idea to live product, in just a matter of days.”
In terms of outlook, Nowak noted: “Every market in the FEG group evolves at its own pace, and it may take some time for customers to fully understand and adopt something new. At the same time, we have clear ambitions for where we want this to go.
“In terms of popularity, we see solid potential. Quarters could build into a strong pre-match option and perform even better in live betting. Shorter windows of around 20 minutes make the experience more dynamic compared to waiting for a full half.”
In February, one year on from stepping into the role, John expressed his intention to scale through M&A and AI implementation to become a “global player” with his “FEG 2.0” strategy.
The group acquired a 70% stake in Lithuania-licensed bookmaker TOPSport in March, marking FEG’s first foray into the Baltics. FEG is also live in Czechia, Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia and Montenegro.
At the beginning of June, FEG unveiled an international TV, digital and out-of-home brand campaign, ‘Feel the Thrill‘.
The post Fortuna unveils ‘quarters’ football betting markets as part of World Cup offering first appeared on EGR Intel.
New feature made possible by hydration breaks described as a “betting revolution” by FEG’s sportsbook executive for Poland Maciej Nowak
The post Fortuna unveils ‘quarters’ football betting markets as part of World Cup offering first appeared on EGR Intel.