G3-247 Report GREECE MARKET UPDATE
l 16,500 VLTs are to operate in OPAP and ODIE’s net- work of agents.
l Four to 10 concessionaires to be selected through public international tender conducted by OPAP for the highest bidders to operate the remaining 18,500.
l All machines (VLT terminals and hardware) and
5km in a straight line from any of the nine licensed casinos.
l VLTs can be installed and operated on cruise ships subject to licences issued by the commission.
l Maximum number of 25 VLTs on premises exclusive- ly dedicated to VLT gambling. However there is a draft legislation to increase this to 50 VLTs. Pending European Commission approval.
The OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics) is a public company based in
Athens. It has the exclusive right to operate and manage
numerical lottery and sport betting games in Greece.
games to be selected from a list drafted by OPAP and approved by commission.
l Online real time monitoring of concessionaries to be done by Greek Ministry of Finance, Commission and OPAP.
l Minimum bet is 10c and maximum bet is €2 per game. This can be changed after a decision of the Hellenic Gaming Commission. The daily limit of €500 on a players card which players must hold or they cannot play.
l Each VLT shall require a minimum space of three sq.m per machine and gaming halls will be on aver- age between 120 and 150sq.m.
FIGURES FOR GAMBLING TURNOVER 2009-2011 TO SHOW DECLINE Gaming company
2009 (bn €) OPAP
Lotteries ODIE
Casinos TOTAL
€5.4
€0.418 €0.260 €2.8 €8.9
l Tax is 30 percent on the VLT GGR per gambling oper- ator payable to the state every three months. If rev- enues increase over a certain thresholds this will increase to 35 percent.
l Players are subject to a 10 percent tax on winnings.
l OPAP as the exclusive operator of VLTs and its sub- contractors are subject to corporate tax of 25 percent.
l Exclusive licence given to OPAP which is renewable upon fulfilment of certain conditions. Licence granted in 2011 on payment of €16,000 per VLT.
l There is no minimum or maximum number of VLTs per concessionaire.
l No ATMs are permitted on premises where VLT are located.
l No VLTs are permitted on premises located less than
The shares of OPAP are now divided between Investors 60.99 percent, Silchester International Investors 5.01 percent, Emma Delta 33 percent and Hellenic Republic retains one percent.
The privatisation deal delayed the 2011 law, however now the Greeks are now eager to get the VLT ball rolling.
8 1
l Operators must obtain an administrative licence issued by Greek authorities.
Under the changes the OPAP will create new gaming halls and it is thought they this will also expand the market in terms of age profile. At the moment an aver- age OPAP customer is 40+ years and VLT market is -40 years. It will also expand the market in terms of operat- ing hours.
THE OPAP The OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics)
is a public company based in Athens. It has the exclu- sive right to operate and manage numerical lottery and sport betting games in Greece.
OPAP was founded in 1958 as a private entity to organ- ise and operate PROPO (Greek Football Pools game) and in 1999 was transformed into Societe Anonyme with the Hellenic Republic as the sole stakeholder. In 2000 OPAP acquired a 20 year licence from the state to be the exclusive operator of lottery and sports betting games which has since been extended to 2030. In 2001 the shares were listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
In 2008 the Greek state owned 34.4 percent and in 2013 the company was privatised with Emma Delta Ltd acquiring a 33 percent stake in the company. Initially eight potential investors expressed an interest: BC Partners; Emma Delta Ltd; Consortium of Gauselmann, Playtech and Helvason; Consortium of Intralot, Primrose Treasure Limited, Third Point LLC, TPG Capital and Triple Five World Group Properties.
2011 (bn €) €4.3
€0.300 €0.123 €2.2 €7.0
l Hours for the gaming halls are 9am until 2am (week- days) and until 4am on weekends and holidays. Food, drink and low alcoholic beverages will be permitted. Smoking is permitted in 50 percent of the space with an annual cost of €200 per sq.m.
Emma Delta is a Cyprus registered bidding vehicle who paid €650m in August 2013 for the stake and the com- pany submitted the only valid binding offer.
The company is now apparently being investigated. Weeks after the take over it replaced the chief execu- tive and other board members with its own appointees. The probe focuses on transparency, governance and possible conflict of interest in the deal.
The leading investors include Jiri Smecj, a Czech billion- aire and Dimitris Melissanidis, a Greek oil tycoon. Mr Smecj controls Emma Capital, an investment company which set up Emma Delta as a vehicle to bid for OPAP. Melissanidis controls a stake in Emma Delta through a Cyprus based company.
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