Greek lottery operator OPAP posted a 5.6% year-on-year increase in gross gaming revenue and net profit in H1, primarily due to significant growth within its online casino business.
Group revenue for the six months to 30 June hit €1.08bn (£913.2m/$1.20bn), up from the €1.03bn posted by OPAP in H1 of last year.
While lottery and betting remained its main sources of revenue, online casino was the star of the show. The trend started during the first quarter and continued throughout H1.
Revenue from online casino activities increased 24.2% year-on-year to €140.3m. OPAP put this down to increased player engagement, with the operator saying penetration of games hit record levels. In total, online casino accounted for 13.0% of all revenue in H1.
What happened elsewhere at OPAP?
H1 lottery revenue topped €373.1m, a 1.8% increase from 2023 thanks to “solid” performance of draw-based games including Lotto, Tzoker and Eurojackpot.
Its sports betting division also experienced single-digit growth with revenue rising 9.2% to €350.1m. This was powered by a 20.5% increase in online betting revenue to €149.6m, while land-based betting revenue also edged up 2.0% to €200.5m.
Video lottery terminal revenue came in at €166.5m, up 0.6% from H1 of last year. However, instant and passives revenue fell 12.8% to €52.5m, partially due to weaker scratchcard and Laiko performances.
OPAP net profit up to €237.0m in H1
In terms of spending, gaming-related costs ticked up 1.3% at €289.6m during H1. OPAP saw costs rise across payroll (10.0%), marketing (34.3%) and other expenses (7.0%).
Such was the impact of increased spending that operating profit slipped 0.8% to €307.3m.
However, the group was able to benefit from $8.2m in net financial income, with this more than offsetting the revenue decline. As such, pre-tax profit was 3.5% higher year-on-year at €315.3m.
OPAP paid €78.3m in taxes and discounted €5.4m in profit attributable to its non-controlling interests. This left a bottom-line net profit of €237.0m, a rise of 3.6% year-on-year.
However, the group did also note a slight drop (0.2%) in EBITDA to €373.7m for the period.
Q2 follows a similar pattern
As for Q2, figures published by OPAP show a similar trend. Group revenue was 7.0% higher at €532.8m, driven by growth in the online casino business.
Online casino revenue was 19.6% higher than the previous year at €69.4m, while betting revenue also hiked 19.7% to €181.6m, helped by the Euro 2024 tournament that kicked off towards the end of the period.
Lottery revenue dipped 0.3% to €177.1m, while video lottery terminal revenue also fell 1.2% to €80.0m. OPAP also saw instant and passives revenue decline 16.6% to €24.7m.
The group did not disclose Q2 operating profit, but it did report a net profit of €118.2m, up 11.1%. EBITDA also increased by 3.0% to €183.4m for the quarter.
