Greek gaming technology firm Intralot has made a proposal to Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis to create a national lottery in the country.
Greek betting operator OPAP holds a monopoly on the Greek gambling market, and in 2013, the Greek government sold its 33% OPAP stake to investment group Emma Delta for €652m.
During Intralot’s annual general meeting in Athens, Chairman Socrates Kokkalis said a national lottery should be established upon the announcement of an international tender by the state. Kokkalis believes the lottery should be organized and run by the new Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) and should operate independently of the current private monopoly.
“The lottery may be owned exclusively by the state, or co-owned by the state and insurance funds or it may even be built on a public-private partnership. The management of the lottery ought to be awarded to an established and globally recognized company in the sector,” said Kokkalis. “According to industry estimates internationally, the fee for the concession of such a license may range from €100m to €250m for a period of 10-20 years, while the annual revenues for the state could amount to as much as €500m to €600m.”
“The winning bidder could assume any costs of eventual litigation from legal claims against the establishment of the National Lottery potentially made by the private monopoly,” Kokkalis added.
Intralot has confirmed that it had submitted a business proposal to the office of Hellenic Minister of Finance.
Prior to the meeting, Intralot appointed Diomedes Kingdom as the company’s new chief financial officer. Kingdom, who graduated at the London School of Economics with specialization in Accounting & Finance, also held executive positions at Regency Entertainment and Group Antenna.
