Rise in Sports Betting Helps OPAP Net Profit Increase in Greece

Rise in sports betting and less costs helps the Greek gambling monopoly OPAP to achieve higher Q1 profits.

The company reported that first-quarter net profit rose 27.6% to EUR 49.7 million, which was much more than the specialists’ predicted figure.

The long recession was the reason for huge losses, but as the answer to the question 'is gambling illegal in Greece?' is no, players continued to show their interest in sports betting and with the overall improvement of the games and the cut costs, the situation for OPAP seems much better.

Improvements

The company introduced new scratch card on May 1st and there are plans to expand it into online sportsbooks in Greece, as well as video lottery gaming machines, which should help for the future growth.

Kamil Ziegler, CEO, commented that 2014 will be strong year, because of the new games:

“The improved performance together with the successful and well perceived launch of the scratch tickets, makes us confident that 2014 will prove to be overall a rewarding year for all of our stakeholders.”