OPAP, Greece’s leading gaming and lottery company, has stepped up a massive investment in its video lottery terminal operation throughout its extended national network.

OPAP

The company will leverage the funds it raised through a €200m bond issue last week in order to upgrade its national network of lottery agencies. The bond issue, a success with Greek and foreign investors, provides the company with the cash flow it needs to finance its ambitious VLT expansion plans. Both local and international investors offered a sum of €400m for the new bond, twice as much as the initial offering, giving what the company described as a global “vote of confidence” just before it launches the new strategic plan.

The plan will see €72.1m be used for the improvement of the agencies’ IT and technological structures, €25.2m will be invested in the expansion of VLTs into dedicated gaming halls and the agencies and €20.3m will be used for the installation of self-service betting terminals and virtual games in the existing network.

So far, OPAP’s investments in its portfolio of gaming and lottery products have born significant fruit in a short time. The acquisition of new games and the improvement of existing games have generated extra sales of over €500m based on 2015 data.

OPAP operates throughout Greece and Cyprus and is considered to be one of the most successful privatised companies in Greece, having remained largely unaffected by the severe financial crisis.