Online betting companies see revenues rise
The domestic online gaming market hit the jackpot in the first half of the year, largely thanks to the 2018 soccer World Cup, which took place in Russia between June 14 and July 15. The 24 enterprises in the sector, which operate under provisional licenses, declared total turnover of 3.23 billion euros and gross gaming revenues (GGR) of 182.8 million euros in January-June.
The 24 licensed service providers posted turnover of 5.28 billion euros and GGR (i.e. turnover minus punter earnings) of 280.6 million over the whole of last year. H1 2018 turnover was up 24 percent on H1 2017, while GGR increased 30 percent. Likewise, an additional 30 percent was also paid in taxes on GGR. The 24 licensed companies paid 98.2 million euros to the state over the whole of 2017, while they paid 64 million euros in the first half of this year alone.
Despite Greece’s absence from the World Cup, betting in the quadrennial soccer tournament attracted great interest, while another factor that has boosted online gaming this year is the government’s clear intention to issue definitive licenses to online providers of games of chance. This has galvanized potential licensees.
