OPAP sheds 140 jobs in company overhaul

Greek monopoly OPAP yesterday announced it has made around 140 roles redundant as it readies itself for its online launch with a major company restructure.

CEO Kamil Ziegler said in an analyst call the company had been split into nine separate business units with the new structure having come into effect on 1 May.

According to Ziegler, the restructure was designed to increase operational and management efficiencies and establish better project decision making and resulted in the loss of around 140 jobs with the firm’s workforce shrinking to 842.

“The collective labour agreement of the parent company expired on 31 March and was not further renewed, which led to the termination of a significant number of employees’ contracts which is allowing us to be much more flexible relating to managerial structure and decisions,” Ziegler said.

The structural change comes as OPAP prepares to launch its debut online product, a digital version of its Stihima sportsbook offering developed by software supplier GTECH.

OPAP’s exclusive right to operate in the country, originally awarded until 2020 but extended until 2030 in 2011 after an additional payment of €375m was made, also allows for additional products and verticals to be launched online however Ziegler refused to comment on precise timeframes for such products when pressed.

Executive board of directors member Michal Houst said for now the online sportsbook was OPAP’s “sole focus” and reiterated its intention to launch next Monday. “We are still convinced that we can meet that target,” he said.

While OPAP had previously stated its intent to launch the sportsbook in time for the World Cup, an internal target of 2 June had been set in order to give the firm some lead time to test the platform’s stability.

Houst refused to attach any material value to the World Cup but insisted the tournament to be a “very, very important proposition” for the operator. “We wouldn’t have worked day and night over the last three months to launch otherwise,” Houst said.

Earlier this week the Greek Gaming Commission published the Game of Conduct for OPAP’s online sportsbook in the government State Gazette, effectively regulating the market and paving the way for OPAP to launch.

The notification process has proven to be controversial however, with international operators said to be considering legal action arguing that a lack of a 90-day standstill period contravenes EU directives.

However Houst dismissed the speculation and considered OPAP’s imminent launch to be perfectly legal. “As I understand it there was no notification period because the whole concept has already been applied,” he said.

“The initial regulation was notified to the EU committees and is already approved. In our opinion, no notification was necessary.”