Greek gambling giant OPAP S.A. has consolidated its online market presence, emerging from Q1 2025 with 20% iGaming growth year-over-year.
Total GGR for the quarter stood at €595m, up 8.2% from last year’s period ending March (Q1 2024: €550m). Of that total, 14.3% was a direct contribution from OPAP’s iGaming segment, which reached €85m compared to €71m in Q1 2024 (up 19.8%).
Further implications of OPAP’s gradual transition from a physical to a digital footprint were highlighted under the ‘Other Operating Expense’ table. There, Expense on Rentals in Q1 2025 was brought down to €204,000, which represented a 79.2% drop from the €982k in Q1 2024.
Due to the report’s compliance with EU IFRS standards, ‘Expense on Rentals’ is likely referring to short-term or low-value leases on secondary premises, such as kiosks and storage units. A 79% drop in relevant expenses would typically signify a major focus on retail optimisation.
What’s more, IT-related costs went up 19.9% YoY to €13m (Q1 2024: €10m), Utilities and Telco costs were down 6.7%, while Inventory Consumption expenses (including paper printing costs) dropped 14.6% YoY. This all alludes to a decline in physical premise usage.
GGR breakdown
Breaking GGR values further down, lottery revenue held the top spot in terms of share percentage (34.7%) with a total of €207m. This was up 5.5% from the same period the previous year (€196m).
Betting came in second with a total of €190m (Q1 2024: €168m). GGR from Video Lottery Terminals stood at €89m compared to the €86m in the first quarter of 2024.
Total GGR from Instant and Passive games came in last, with a total of €25.6m for the period ending March (Q1 2024: €28m).
Operational tailwinds also led to favourable conditions for OPAP’s workforce, with wages and salaries amounting to €21m for the period ending March compared to the €19.5m for the same period last year (up 9.6%).
Jan Karas, CEO of OPAP, commented: “Our solid organic growth, driven by continued momentum in online, makes us confident that we will deliver our outlook for 2025.
“Additionally, retail digitalisation is rapidly advancing through the OPAP Store App, offering personalized experiences through our Loyalty schemes.
“Overall, the first quarter performance places us well to achieve our growth and profitability goals, generating value for our shareholders and fulfilling our sustainability and social responsibility priorities.”
