SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
GTECH Interactive CEO Walter Bugno has shown his full support for the recently agreed software supply partnership with Greek licensed gambling operator – OPAP, stating it represents a major coup for GTECH Interactive and that it validates the company’s online capabilities.
OPAP selected GTECH Interactive as its supplier of igaming inventory, in a closed tender that saw 888 Holdingss, Playtech and Openbet bid for the suppliers contract . Furthermore GTECH Interactive announced that it would supply OPAP with a new online sportsbook, which will be launched at the end of the year.
Walter Bugno believes that the partnership represents a validation of GTECH’s online gambling services. OPAP holds exclusive rights to offer online gambling services in Greece. In 2012 the ex-state owned betting operator renewed terms with the Greek Government that would see the operator maintain its betting monopoly in the region until 2020.
Bugno commented in a corporate statement “This decision is a validation of the successful ongoing performance and cross-channel capabilities of GTECH’s online portfolio, which we are providing to World Lottery Association customers, including the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Norsk Tipping in Norway, and Veikkaus in Finland,”
OPAP are set to integrate GTECH’s player management system and sports betting services. Bugno further added “This will fulfill OPAP’s online betting strategy by reliably driving program growth as technology and player preferences evolve. In addition, the open architecture of the Player Account Management system will enable OPAP to implement its preferred strategy for a single view of the player through the creation of a single player account across multiple games and gaming channels.”
OPAP had operated as the state owned igaming operator previously using GTECH software, in 2013 the Greek Government would sell all shares in its asset to the EMMA DELTA consortium for €625 million. The consortium consists of Lottomatica (owner of GTECH), Czech investor Jiri Smejc and Greek shipbuilding giant the Melissanidis Group.
The OPAP represents good news for the GTECH Corporation, last week it announced that it had seen a fall in net revenue of 23%. GTECH Interactive have been effected by the loss of key clients, and its failure to release product inventory into the igaming market. The software provider announced the closure its poker network -IPN, earlier this year.
