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Greek Council of State Recalls OPAP's Online Sports Betting License
September 24, 2019 Aleksandra Zolotic
The supreme istrative court in Greece, The Council of State, recalled OPAP’s certificate. The revoked license means that the operator will no longer be able to offer online sports betting services to the clients.
The decision was made in July, but it became public after reports in the Greek media during the past week. The court upheld Austrian operator, Goalbet’s, appeal of the Hellenic Gaming Commission’s (EEEP) decision that greenlighted OPAP to open Pame Stoixima, its online sports wagering venue.
Failed to Meet the Conditions
OPAP was granted the license in May 2014…
…which enabled the operator to distribute online sports betting services. However, Goalbet, one of 24 brands which possessed a temporary license that was later canceled pointed out that OPAP has never been required to fulfill the conditions necessary to operate in Greece. As Goalbet stressed out, that’s what makes their license non-valid.
As far as the court ruled, if OPAP has intentions to re-enter the digital sports wagering market, the company will be obliged to comply with the country’s licensing conditions. The ruling also states that the brands which had their licenses revoked may be entitled to financial compensation. This includes Goalbet as well.
The Revenue Won’t Be Affected
Whether temporary or permanent, the cancellation of the certificate should not have a huge impact on the operator’s sports betting revenue. According to the figures, the revenue was dominated by OPAP’s retail offering. For the six months to 30 June 2019, sports betting revenue decreased 5.2% at €191.9m, with Pame Stoixima’s contribution flat year-on-year.
OPAP spokesperson emphasized as follows:
“This Council of State decision refers to OPAP’s online sports betting offering and does not affect any land-based and retail offering of OPAP’s
games, nor its online lottery games offering. The contribution of online sports betting for OPAP is very low, standing at low to mid-single-digit million euros of GGR as an absolute amount or less than 1% of total OPAP’s GGR.”The spokesperson also pointed out that the company’s main online business was run through Stoiximan, the iGaming business in which OPAP holds a majority stake.
Reforms on the Way
A series of reforms regarding online gambling is expected to be introduced in Greece in 2020. Among the proposed plans, there are suggestions to separate online game of chance licenses into two categories:
- a permit for betting games (namely sports and non-sports bets)
- a license for other online games
Interested companies will have the chance to apply for both types of certificates, with the EEEP not being limited as to how many approvals it can grant.
Source:
“Greek court revokes OPAP online sports betting license”, igamingbusiness.com, September 23, 2019.
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