Notable shift to online gaming
The pandemic has led to a major swing in gambling from physical games and betting to online versions, with the losses of conventional forms of gambling more than offset by remote gaming, according to data from the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) for 2020.
The total gaming revenue recorded by EEEP last year rose 0.43% from 2019 to 16 billion euros, with remote gambling accounting for 72.11% or €11.5 billion, and the rest (€4.5 billion) coming from the physical form.
The higher rate of winnings for punters online meant gross gaming revenues (turnover minus earnings) dropped 27.14% year-on-year to €1.6 billion.
The EEEP report stresses that a large share of punters who previously participated in physical gaming, at OPAP stores, shifted to remote gambling, contributing to a 35.85% annual increase in total gaming revenues from electronic games of chance and a 34.46% rise in gross gaming revenues.
Over the last five years (2016-20) the top spot among online gaming revenues was occupied by some distance to betting, which includes fixed-odds betting, in-play betting and virtual betting, though there has been a small declining trend over the last three years.