OPAP Q2 revenues up 6.5% as VLTs and lottery rescue sports betting decline

Greek gambling giant OPAP has reported a 6.5% year-on-year rise in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the second quarter of 2019, with revenues increasing to €383.6m (£342m).

Overall gross profits from gaming operations rose by 8.6% to €152.3m (£136m), while company EBITDA rose by 24% during the same period to €87m (£77m).

Revenues from the firm’s sports betting operations (23% of total revenues) fell by 5% to €90.1m.

OPAP attributed the fall to the presence of “tough comparables” from Q2 2018, including the FIFA World Cup.

Despite the decline, OPAP said there was evidence of an “underlying improvement” in its sportsbook offering.

OPAP CEO Damian Cope cited the online sector as a key area of focus for the business, through its OPAP online offering and the company’s investment in fellow Greek operator Stoiximan Group.

“We are seeing good growth in the customer bases of both operations and are confident that we will continue to see growth from both businesses for some time to come,” Cope added.

Video Lottery Terminals (VLT’s) proved to be the biggest revenue generator during Q2 for OPAP, with revenues rising by 54% YoY to €70.9m from a prior Q2 2018 high of €46m. VLT’s account for just over 18% of OPAP’s total revenues accrued during the quarter.

Lottery-based gaming, which accounted for 48% of OPAP’s revenues during Q2, enjoyed a modest increase in revenues during the same period, with revenues rising by just under 3% YoY to €187.6m.

So-called instants and passives, which includes scratchcard gaming, saw a 4% YoY revenue decrease during Q2 2019, with revenues falling to €34.8m from a previous Q2 2018 high of €36.4m.