OPAP and Brightstar emerge as contenders for Greek national lottery
Allwyn’s incumbent Greek subsidiary faces a challenge from IGT’s rebranded lottery division.
Greece.- The Greek national lottery tender has come down to a battle between the incumbent OPAP and IGT’s rebranded lottery division Brightstar. The two operators have formally submitted expressions of interest in acquiring exclusive operational rights to a package of state lotteries for at least 10 years.
Launched last month, the tender includes the main Greek national lottery Ethnikó as well as other state-owned lotteries, the Instant State Lottery, the State Housing Lottery, the Popular Lottery and the Special Social National Lottery, as well as the Extraordinary or Special Lottery drawn by the European Association of State Lotteries (AELLE).
The process is being overseen by Greece’s sovereign investment body GrowthFund, which set a deadline of July 23 for submissions. Brightstar and Allwyn’s OPAP are said to be the only contenders. Their submissions will be evaluated for progression to the next phase, in which they would need to submit binding proposals.
OPAP’s Hellenic Lotteries has run the state lottery since it began in 1990, giving it a possible advantage due to its local knowledge. It was last awarded a 12-year licence to operate the gamut of state lotteries in 2013 for a payment of €190m up front and guaranteed revenue contributions. That concession expires this year.
For the first quarter of the year, OPAP reported revenue growth of 8.2 per cent year-on-year to €595m. Online gambling was the biggest driver, with igaming revenue up by 19.8 per cent year-on-year to €85m, but lottery operations were still OPAP’s biggest segment, generating 34.7 per cent of GGR at €207m.
That’s a 5.5 per cent increase year-on-year. Betting revenue climbed by 13.1 per cent to €190m and video lottery terminal (VLT) revenue by 3.5 per cent to €89m. Instant and passive games generated €25.6m, a drop of 8.6 per cent.
Last week, Allwyn, OPAP’s parent company, announced that its Greek subsidiary would acquire the remaining 15.51 per cent minority interest in Stoiximan for €191.6m. OPAP first acquired an interest in the online gambling and sports betting brand in 2018 and subsequently increased its interest to 84.49 per cent through two acquisitions.
Allwyn said that Stoiximan had demonstrated a track record of strong top-line growth and profitability, achieving GGR growth of 27 per cent in 2024. The transaction will increase OPAP’s ownership interest to 100 per cent in line with Allwyn’s strategy of increasing its interest in existing operations that are not wholly-owned.
The company noted that the move will increase its exposure to the high-growth online sports betting and igaming segments, which it sees as complementary to the growth profile of its lottery business.
