OPAP

History

OPAP (Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A.) was established in 1958 in Athens as a private legal entity under the General Secretariat for Sport, launching its first game, PRO‑PO, in March 1959. Modeled on Italy's Toto Calcio, PRO‑PO quickly gained popularity, and OPAP expanded its agency network throughout the 1960s and 1970s while beginning to finance sports and cultural infrastructure. The 1990s brought major new games: Lotto in 1990, PROTO in 1993, TZOKER in 1997, and the sports‑betting product Pame Stoixima in 2000. OPAP listed on the Athens Stock Exchange in 2001 and secured a 12‑year licence for instant‑ticket and passive lotteries through Hellenic Lotteries S.A. in 2013, the same year its full privatisation was completed.

Business Model & Products

OPAP's product ecosystem is built around exclusive rights to operate numerical lotteries (Lotto, TZOKER, PROTO, Extra 5, Super 3), sports betting (Pame Stoixima), Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs), and instant‑win scratch cards under the Hellenic Lotteries licence. In 2024, the company introduced Eurojackpot, a multi‑country lottery, to the Greek market. OPAP also owns Stoiximan (fully acquired in 2025), a leading online sports‑betting and casino platform in Greece and Cyprus, and uses EveryMatrix's CasinoEngine platform to power its online casino offering since 2020. The company generates revenue primarily through gross gaming revenue (GGR), reporting a record €2.408 billion GGR and recurring EBITDA of €837 million in 2025.

Market Position & Competition

As Greece's dominant gaming operator with exclusive licences extending to 2030 and 2038, OPAP enjoys a near‑monopoly in its core markets. Its privatisation in 2013 and subsequent acquisition by Emma Delta (backed by Czech investor Karel Komárek) paved the way for the 2026 business combination with Allwyn AG, creating the second‑largest listed lottery and gaming operator globally. Despite this international scale, OPAP remains listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and operates under the Allwyn Hellas brand while preserving its Greek identity. The company competes primarily with international operators in the online space, but its exclusive land‑based licences provide a strong moat.

Licensing & Regulatory Footprint

OPAP's exclusive rights to organise and operate games of chance in Greece were extended to 2030 in 2011, and the Hellenic Lotteries licence was renewed to 2038 in 2025. The company is regulated by the Hellenic Gaming Commission and adheres to strict responsible gaming standards, holding World Lottery Association Level 4 certification. It has also invested heavily in compliance and player protection, including AI‑driven tools to promote safe gambling.

Recent Developments

In January 2026, OPAP completed its business combination with Allwyn AG, commercially rebranding as Allwyn Hellas. The company has embraced digital transformation, deploying Microsoft Copilot across its workforce and integrating advanced analytics to improve operational efficiency. OPAP continues to finance sports and cultural infrastructure in Greece, honoring its historical mandate while modernizing its product suite and customer channels.