Greeks stake €21.25 bln in six months
The figures of the gambling market for the year’s first half not only show the increase in the value of bets, but also the significant increase in revenue collected by the state from this activity.
From January to June, the industry’s total turnover (TGR), which comes mainly from the regambling of money won by players in games of chance, increased by 13.3% to 21.25 billion euros compared with the same period of 2023.
The lion’s share of TGR, in the order of €15 billion, comes from online games (+18% compared to the first half of 2023). It is followed by OPAP with approximately €5 billion and an increase of 4.1% on an annual basis.
The TGR have a significant deviation in relation to the reformed TGR, which increased by 10.1% to €7.5 billion, and the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) has started to calculate, representing the amount that was actually wagered (after the deduction of profits and taxes). The largest contribution of €3.46 billion to the (reformed) TGR comes from OPAP, followed by online companies with €3.37 billion.
State revenues from rights increased during the first half of the year, annually, by a total of 12.3%, to €288.2 million. The reason is the new Euro Jackpot game, which has an increased royalty rate, with taxation corresponding to 30% of gross gaming revenue (GGR). A significant increase of 17.8% was also shown by the players’ tax, the total amount of which reached €188 million. In total, from players’ tax and rights, in January-June, the state collected €476 million, up by 14.4% from the same period of 2023.
According to the EEEP data, the total turnover of casinos increased by 4.3% to €980.2 million, with this particular category of the market showing the least revenue, after the lotteries and racecourse. As the watchdog states in a newsletter, of the 10 operating casinos, the most problematic were and are the Loutraki casino and the three casinos in which Kostas Piladakis was the main shareholder.
“The only hope of salvation for these four casinos was to find an investor who would undertake their recovery. It was not something easy, because the accumulated debts were and are many, the bureaucratic procedures are deterrent, the problems with the staff are great and as investments they are not particularly attractive,” it is noted.
