iGaming Business – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has reported better-than-expected results in the second quarter despite having been hit by a retroactive tax bill of €21.6 million ($28.5 million) in the period. The bill dates back to the 2010 fiscal year in which the firm had amounted tax charges of €29.6 million, with the operator having only paid €9 million of the total bill so far. After agreeing a deal with the Greek government to delay payment of the remaining balance until the second quarter of this year, OPAP must now complete full payment by the end of the quarter….

Ekathimerini – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP, one of Europe’s biggest betting firms, said it expected revenue to grow by a double-digit percentage this year, thanks to the planned launch of new games. The forecast was included in a presentation released on Wednesday, a day after the company announced higher-than-expected first-quarter profit due to cost cuts and the robust performance of its sports betting game Pame Stoichima. OPAP, whose sales reached 3.7 billion euros last year, launched a scratchcard game on May 1. Chief Executive Kamil Ziegler said on Wednesday that the company would also expand into online sports betting by…

Reuters – Greece’s OPAP, one of Europe’s biggest betting firms, plans to launch long-awaited online sports betting before the start of the soccer World Cup in June, its CEO said on Thursday, in a bid to capitalize on the popular event. Greece sold a majority stake in OPAP to Czech-Greek investment fund Emma Delta for 652 million euros ($890 million)last year, marking its first major privatization under its multi-billion international bailout. The new management that took over in October promised to implement the company’s plans to expand into online betting, video lotto and scratch cards. OPAP launched a scratch card…

Poker News – As the Greek Organization of Football Prognostics (OPAP) announced its decision to focus on the creation of a new online sports betting platform in cooperation with GTECH, the risk of Greece running the next online poker monopoly in Europe is now considerably thinner. Although many thought Greece’s government could opt to close its market to international operators in 2014 and put a brand new monopoly in OPAP’s hands, the decision to focus on sports betting and not on poker is a game changer that is going to keep the country’s market open for a while longer. Even…

iGaming Business – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has cited the introduction of a new gross gaming revenue tax in the country as the reason behind a significant drop in net profit during the 12 months to December 31, 2013. The new 30% tax on gross gaming revenue for companies in Greece meant OPAP’s net profit totalled just €141.1 million ($194.7 million) in 2013, a 72.1% drop on the €505.5 million achieved in the previous year. Full-year revenue also fell 6.6% from €4 billion in 2012 to €3.7 billion in the last 12 months, while gross gaming revenue dropped 6.3% to €1.2…

The betting monopoly OPAP has struck a deal with iGaming firm GTECH to provide Greek online betting services its customers. OPAP officials awarded the contract to GTECH after vetting four other firms. It will help their much-needed expansion into the online betting market, which has become increasingly important in anticipation for the 2014 Football World Cup. GTECH is an industry leader in developing and providing iGaming software. Their offering includes everything from online blackjack and slots to lotteries and sportsbetting. It provides games for online casinos and betting sites across Europe and North America. The formerly state-owned company was privatized…