OPAP profits down 74% post privatisation
Greek monopoly sees sports betting slide by more than a quarter during H1 2013
Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has posted a 74% drop in net profits for the first half of 2013, just weeks after the government’s 33% stake was sold to a private equity fund.
The company, which holds the exclusive rights to offer all gambling including sports betting, revealed that profits fell to 67.3m from 258m in the same period in 2012.
Revenues fell 15.1% to 1.744bn from 2.055bn in H1 2012, with the operator citing Greece’s economic troubles as the primary reason for the decline.
Sports betting revenues stood at 605.9m for the six-month period, down by 27% compared to last year.
Equity fund Emma Delta, led by Czech billionaire Jiri Smejc and Greek oil tycoon Dimitris Melissanides, agreed a deal to pay 650m for the stake in OPAP last month.
While the operator’s share price will be hit by the recent set of results, its new owners will hope a move into online gambling will provide a new source of revenues in the next 12 to 18 months.
A bill leaked in December 2012 would see OPAP maintain a monopoly across all online betting until 2020, contradicting the Greek regulator’s plans to begin a limited licensing process.
Last year OPAP selected GTECH G2 as its software supplier for an online gaming launch after the Lottomatica subsidiary fought off competition from Playtech and Intralot to win the contract.
OPAP said last year that the move into online gaming would mark the start of a strategy to expand its services into a number of regulated markets across Europe.