OPAP Q3 net profit drops 16 percent

Greek gambling monopoly OPAP posted a 16 percent drop in its third quarter 2011 net profit results due to reduced spending by recession-hit customers said a Reuters report.

“What they say about poverty boosting gambling is a myth,” said Kyriakos Toptsidis, head of OPAP’s sales agents.  “When people do not have enough to eat, they do not buy lottery tickets. They may not stop altogether, but they cut down.”

Flagship games, Stihima (sportsbetting game) and Kino (lottery) fell 20.3 percent and 14.4 percent respectively, traditionally just these two games account for 85 percent of OPAP’s total revenues.

OPAP acquired an exclusive Greek video lotto licence earlier this month for Euros 475 million with another Euros 375 million payable at the end of this year to secure its betting monopoly for a further 10 years until 2030 .

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