(Reuters) – Greece’s largest gaming company OPAP raised its gross gaming revenue by 4.7% year-on-year in the second quarter, driven by strong online casino growth and a steady lottery performance, it said on Wednesday.
Lottery performance and the growth in online casino offset weaker sports betting due to tough comparisons with the Euro 2024 tournament, it said.
The group said GGR rose to 557.9 million euros ($653 million) in the second quarter from 532.8 million euros in the same period last year.
Revenue from its online casino segment surged 24.4% to 86.4 million euros, while lottery revenue grew 2.2% to 180.9 million euros, supported by strong jackpots.
Betting revenue, however, fell 1.9% to 178.2 million euros, reflecting a challenging comparison with last year’s second quarter, when the Euro 2024 tournament took place.
Chief Executive Jan Karas said in a statement the quarter demonstrated “solid financial results” despite “tough sports betting comparables,” and reaffirmed that OPAP was well-positioned to meet its full-year outlook.
The Athens-listed group also announced an interim dividend of 0.50 euros per share.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Jan Harvey and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
