Four groups expected to table offers for OPAP
At least four groups are interested in acquiring a 29 percent stake currently held by the Greek state in gaming company OPAP, a government official told reporters on Thursday.
The groups comprise both Greek and international bidders and the sale is expected to be completed by the end of January, said the official, who asked not to be identified.
Reports have suggested that Greece?s Intralot and Italy?s Lottomatica are among the likely suitors for the 29 percent stake that the state is expected to put up for sale in the coming months, following a settlement reached between Athens and the European Commission on Wednesday regarding the company?s tax status.
However, the suitors will be closely watching an ongoing court case regarding the gaming corporation?s domestic monopoly. OPAP stated on Thursday that it expects a final decision next year from the European Union Court of Justice on whether the company?s monopoly on gambling activities in Greece is lawful, after an adviser to Europe?s highest court said yesterday that the firm should not have a monopoly because it is using its protected position to expand, in the face of European policies limiting gambling.
?OPAP seems to pursue an expansionist commercial policy. Those circumstances… are in my view manifestly inconsistent with the purported objective of reducing the betting and gaming opportunities in Greece,? said Advocate General Jan Mazak in a legal document laying out his argument against the monopoly.
?In my view… the activities of OPAP are neither subject to strict control by the public authorities nor effectively limited by the legislative framework applicable to it,? he added.
The ECJ has been looking into a case brought against Greece by Britain?s biggest bookmaker William Hill and online gaming companies SportingBet and Stanleybet after they were denied gambling licenses there. Greek judges considering the case have sought advice from the Luxembourg-based court. Mazak?s opinion is not binding on the judges of the Greek court, but they tend to follow such advice in the majority of cases.
The company?s stock followed up its record one-day drop of over 18 percent on Wednesday with a 0.23 percent decline on Thursday, ending at 4.30 euros.
