OPAP Freezes the Roll-out of VLTs in Greece

OPAP, the leading gambling company in Greece, has frozen the roll-out of video-lottery terminals in Greece until the country settles a “procedural” regulatory issue.

OPAP currently operates 20,091 video-lottery machines and have to add an additional 4900 by the end of 2019 to complete the installation of a total of 25,000 machines under an exclusivity agreement with Greece.

The company said that they had decided to put the plan on hold after a Greek court annulled a previous decision by the Greek gambling commission which set out the regulations for the machines.

OPAP’s Chief Executive Officer Damian Cope said the ruling was “purely procedural” as it seemed that the regulation should have been originally issued through a presidential decree. He said he was confident that the issue would be resolved.

“At the moment, we are continuing all of the necessary activities related to the planning of our roll-out. Our intention is to complete the roll out by the end of the year and as soon as we get a clarification that we want, then we’ll be up again.” Cope said.