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MY DIARY 53
£5.20 (€8.30) • ISSUE:97 • OCTOBER 2012 •
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RGA goes for OPAP’s jugular
In a bid to remove the ‘illegal’ restrictions on online operators in Greece, the RGA is trying to stir trouble for the government’s plans to sell its OPAP shares.
GREECE T
he Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has stepped up its campaign to have the monopoly enjoyed
by Greek operator OPAP broken up, by potentially hitting the Greek government in the pocket. The government has launched a tender to sell off almost all its interest in the operator in order to raise funds for the belea- guered state. But in order to keep its share price high and max- imise returns, the government has ensured OPAP maintains its monopoly licence in some markets until 2030.
But the RGA has become the fly in the ointment of the tender by writing to leading banks in the transaction Deutsche Bank and the National Bank of Greece in order to flag up the several legal disputes that OPAP is facing both at home and in Europe which may render its monopoly position null and void in the near future.
RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood commented:
“Given that there are a number of significant challenges to the new gambling regime in Greece, it is only right that we brought these to the attention of Deutsche Bank to ensure that they are properly reflected in the sale process. Under pres- sure from the European Com- mission, the Greek government has announced plans to rectify the preferential tax treatment that OPAP’s online gaming busi- ness would have enjoyed, but there are other major issues that have still to be resolved, not least the fact that the intention is still to let OPAP have a monopoly in the online sports betting market. “Of course, if the online sports betting market is fully opened and all participants are taxed and treated equally our position may change and the Greek Gov- ernment, online betting cus- tomers and gambling operators will benefit from a fair and com- petitive market that operates in compliance with EU rules.” Among the outstanding com- plaints are one to the European
Sportingbet fends off William Hill and GVC
ACQUISITION O
CAPTION: THE GREEK GOVERNMENT IS SELLING OFF 33 PER CENT OF ITS OPAP SHARES
nline bookmaker Sportingbet has rebuffed a £350m joint offer from William Hill and GVC Holdings saying that it undervalues the company, although it is thought that a revised offer of £400m might meet with a little more success. The bid was mainly in cash but with an element of GVC shares. Sportingbet commented: “The Board of Sportingbet confirms that it has received an indicative offer from William Hill and GVC of 52.5 pence comprising of 45 pence in cash from William Hill and 7.5 pence in shares in GVC. The Board of Sportingbet has responded that this indicative offer significantly undervalues the business and its future prospects.” The two companies now have until 16 October to come up with a revised offer should they wish to. William Hill and GVC were forced to issue stock market announcements about their plans at the start of last month after a jump in Sport- ingbet’s share price. A joint statement from the would be
Commission about a retroactive tax regime for online gambling operators not applying to the OPAP-controlled land based gambling industry which the RGA argues constitutes illegal state aid and a breach of EU free movement provisions. The online tax regime is also subject to a legal challenge at the Greek Council of State on the grounds that it is unconstitutional as it contravenes the right to conduct a business activity and is dispro- portionate.
The RGA and the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) have also complained to Europe about OPAP’s land- based sportsbetting monopoly
whilst also potentially being awarded an online sports betting monopoly.
Whether this makes a dent in the sale price of the Greek gov- ernment’s 33 per cent share remains to be seen, but it is defi- nitely likely to rile OPAP, some- thing for which the RGA has previous. Only last year the oper- ator defended the claims from the trade association, accusing it of ‘withholding the truth’, being ‘very provocative’ and ‘trying to stir up sensationalism, invoking arguments not founded on actual fact’.
GREECE COMPLAINT News 3
purchasers read: “It is currently envis- aged that any possible offer would be structured such that when completed William Hill would acquire the Australian and certain other locally licensed busi- nesses of Sportingbet and GVC would acquire the remaining parts of the Sportingbet business. The Boards of William Hill and GVC believe that by acting in combination they represent a highly credible possible offeror for the entire Sportingbet business, substan- tially in cash.”
While William Hill and GVC might seem unexpected bedfellows, both have enjoyed success with recent acquisi- tions - William Hill with a trio of US book- makers and GVC with a somewhat convoluted semi-acquisition of Sport- ingbet’s Turkish business Superbahis - and both firms are no doubt keen to emulate that success again.
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