iGaming Business – Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has reported a massive 73.9% year-on-year fall in net profit to €67.3 million ($89 million) from €258 million for the first half of 2013. Revenue fell by 15.1% from €2.055 billion to €1.744 billion, with OPAP citing chronic financial problems in Greece and one-off factors for the results. Between the start of January and the end of June, sportsbetting declined by 26.9% to €605.9 million, while numbers games operated by OPAP fell by 7.1% to €1.138 billion. Earlier this month, the Greek government’s Hellenic Republic Assets Development Fund (HRADF) agency finalised a deal to…

From Reuters – Greece on Monday completed the sale of a major stake in state-controlled gambling firm OPAP (OPAr.AT) to Greek-Czech fund Emma Delta, a condition of the country’s ambitious asset sales program under its multi-billion international bailout. Athens sealed a deal to sell its 33 percent stake in OPAP to Emma Delta for 652 million euros ($870.52 million) in May but rows among opposing investors over the fees OPAP would pay its partners for technology and printing services delayed the deal. Cash-strapped Athens is struggling to meet reform targets under its 240-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout and risks losing funding if…

From iGaming Business – Integrated gaming and transaction processing systems developer and supplier Intralot SA has signed a deal to provide Greek gaming operator OPAP SA with a new central system. Athens-based Intralot stated that the five-year agreement, which will also see it supply the operator with support and maintenance services, will see it commission and install a new central system featuring all of the necessary software in preparation for the start of live operations and user licences in Greece and Cyprus. “The duration of this agreement is for two years with three one-year renewal options,” read a statement from…

British sports betting operator Stanleybet has threatened to sue Greece for lost revenue in a long-running legal battle over their gambling monopoly firm OPAP. Stanleybet accuses Greece of tacitly rejecting its 2004 request to offer sports betting in the country and said on Wednesday it had told the government and OPAP it will seek damages of about 240 million euros. OPAP, one of Europe’s biggest gaming companies, has a monopoly in offline sports betting and lotteries in Greece until 2030. Athens agreed earlier this month to sell a controlling stake and management rights in OPAP to Greek-Czech investment fund Emma…

From Fox Business News Greece’s government Wednesday accepted a 652 million euro ($860.3 million) bid for the state gambling company OPAP SA (GRKZF, OPAP.AT), marking the first significant asset sale in the country’s long-delayed privatization program. In a statement, Greece’s privatization agency said that a Czech-led private equity consortium, Emma Delta, had won the bid for the acquisition of a 33% stake of OPAP, after improving its earlier bid by EUR30 million to meet the government’s minimum target price. Greece will also retain 2012 dividends from the company, equal to EUR60 million, bringing the total bid up to EUR712 million,…