Greek betting organisation OPAP has been on the defensive all week after coming under fire from deputies for being excluded from the new gaming bill.
Deputies blamed the finance ministry for excluding OPAP from the bill, which they said was effectively leading to a monopoly for OPAP, which runs the Lotto, Joker and KINO games among others.
“The specific bill will not ban gambling, but legalise it and unfortunately it will legalise it for only one company, which will enjoy a monopoly,” said House Finance Committee Chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos.
“Of course I am referring to OPAP, a company which gained around €70 million in 2009, of which only a little over €1 million went to state coffers in the form of taxes.”
The figures quoted by Papadopoulos are questionable as far as OPAP is concerned, as are such perceptions of its operation in Cyprus.
Unlike the private online gambling casinos that have sprung up on every street corner in Cyprus, OPAP operates in Cyprus by means of a bilateral agreement with Greece on a state-to-state basis. The agreement was signed in 2003, and passed by the Cyprus parliament.
According to Agathe Manaridou, OPAP’s Services Manager, the bilateral agreement provides that the bulk of the organisation’s takings in Cyprus should be ploughed back into the country by means of winnings, taxes, sponsorships and commissions.
Under the agreement, some 6-10 per cent should go on operational costs, 1.0 to 2.0 per cent on promoting sports, health and education and up to 2.0 per cent on advertising. The vast majority goes on payout to winners.
Last year for instance OPAP raked in €180 million in Cyprus - around €15 million a month - of which more than 60 per cent or €115 million went on winnings.
Also deducted from the €180 million in takings, Mandariou said that €16 million went on commission for OPAP’s agencies. Over €2 million went on advertising and €18 million on operational costs. The state received over €14 million from that money, as part of the bilateral agreement plus an additional €676,050 in taxes, she said. “Furthermore, over €2 million was paid in VAT on the commission for our agencies,” added Manaridou.
She said that almost €2 million was given in sponsorships, which are decided by a five-member committee that includes spokesmen from the Finance Ministry. “So as you can see, this bill really doesn’t have anything to do with OPAP,” said Manaridou.
OPAP’s profits have been falling in the past 12 months. Net profit for last year was not available but in 2009, the company took in revenue of €197 million in Cyprus and registered a net profit after tax of €7.7 million.
by Jacqueline Agathocleous
source: Cyprus Mail
