Operator News
Greece – Greek government to slash OPAP VLT contract
By Phil - 7 August 2017
The Greek government is looking to rewrite the terms of an agreement with OPAP, reducing the total number of VLTs it can operate from 35,000 to 25,000.
To compensate OPAP it is planning to extend its contract for another eight years.
The number of operations that OPAP will need to open to accommodate the new VLTs will also fall as the number per location is going to increase. OPAP’s new PLAY stores will be able to operate 50, up from 25, whilst ‘agent’ shops will be able to operate 15 instead of three.
The Ministry of Finance has presented the bill to Parliament. OPAP, who has signed agreements with Scientific Games, Inspired Gaming, IGT, and Synot Group, said that despite the changes it still plans to complete the roll-out of 16,500 VLTs by May 2018. It will also subcontract an additional 18,000 machines.
OPAP currently operates sports betting and lottery services in more than 5,700 betting locations in Greece and in the Republic of Cyprus. It has been attempting to start this latest VLT roll-out for several years now but has been delayed by several different political hurdles.
