OPAP

The local stock benchmark?s streak of losses may have been broken, but Tuesday?s early gains of 3 percent had been whittled away to less than 1 percent by the end of the session, as traders? political and economic expectations appeared to crumble.

The honeymoon is over at the Greek bourse, as the satisfaction from the country?s deal with the eurozone appeared short-lived, with stocks falling for a second day on Thursday on news that the state is increasingly cash-starved and left-wing deputies are disputing the government?s policy.

Greece's OPAP, Europe's second-biggest gambling company by stock market value, is pushing back the launch of its video lotto machines (VLTs) by about three months to the second quarter of next year, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Greece’s OPAP, Europe’s second-biggest gambling firm based on market value, posted on Tuesday a 26 percent rise in third quarter profit, boosted by new games and cost cuts.

Net profit rose to 55.9 million euros from 44.4 million euros in the same period last year. The figure was at the high end of analysts’ forecast in a recent Reuters poll.

The 2 percent growth that the Athens benchmark was showing at at 3 p.m. vanished as soon as European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi finished his speech, after 4 p.m., inflicting losses on the majority of stocks on a day that had seemed so full of promise at the start.

The moderate growth posted by the Athens benchmark at the end of Tuesday’s trading failed to avert another monthly drop – the sixth in a row for the Greek bourse’s main index, which in September gave up 8.63 percent of its value. It was the first time in three years that the bourse declined for a sixth month in succession.

By George Georgiopoulos

Greece's privatization agency has received two binding bids for the country's horse race betting licence after scrapping a previous tender last month due to a lack of sufficient interest.

The HDRAF agency said on Friday Greek betting firm OPAP and gaming systems supplier Intralot had submitted bids for a 20-year licence to take wagers on horse races.

By Vangelis Mandravelis

The new tender for the concession of the right to organize and operate wagering on horse races in Greece for the next 20 years will include a number of changes in its terms, despite assurances to the contrary by state sell-off fund TAIPED. It follows a failed tender that drew only one bid, from Intralot, which did not meet TAIPED’s pecuniary requirements.

Greece's OPAP, one of Europe's biggest betting firms, has teamed up with a British fund manager to bid for the country's horse race betting licence, days after the privatisation agency scrapped a previous tender.

OPAP, Europe’s second-largest gambling firm, announced Thursday that it was proceeding with a 90 percent acquisition of Payzone Hellas SA, the biggest mobile phone top-up network in Greece with over 11,000 POS terminals installed, for 7.75 million euros.