Greek OPAP hit by retroactive tax bill of €21.6 million

Greek state betting/gambling monopoly OPAP has announced that its second quarter financial results would suffer due to the operator being hit by a retroactive tax bill of €21.6 million (£17.5 million).

The multi-million tax bill dates back to 2010 fiscal year, OPAP had amounted tax charges of €29.6 million, of which the operator had paid just €8 million.  OPAP management had negotiated with the Greek government to delay the payment of remaining tax balance till Q2 2014.

The Greek Ministry of Finance has ordered the state owned operator to pay its 2010 tax bill by the end of the quarter.

OPAP is scheduled to release its results on Wednesday. The firm is expected to post a double-digit percentage rise in second-quarter profit, boosted by the World Soccer Cup and the implementation of a new sports betting platform (powered by GTECH)

OPAP senior management have challenged the tax bill imposed on them by the government, with a view to reduce the charge by 50%