Online casino continues to uplift OPAP revenue in Q3

Greek gambling group OPAP posted a 17.6% year-on-year increase in revenue for Q3, helped by double-digit growth across its lottery, sports betting and online casino segments.

Gross gaming revenue for the three months to 30 September hit €565.8 million (£471.6 million/$596.6 million). This comfortably surpasses the €481 million reported by OPAP in Q3 last year.

Figures from the operator published last night (20 November) show growth in four of its five core divisions. Lottery generated the most revenue at €200 million, but arguably the star of the show was online casino where revenue jumped 48.3%.

This continued a trend seen throughout H1, with growth in the online casino business far outpacing other areas.

Online casino again the highlight at OPAP

Breaking down segmental performance in Q3, online casino saw the most growth, with total revenue up to €92.7 million. This follows double-digit increases in Q1 and Q2, with OPAP highlighting the impact of higher player engagement levels.

The lottery business drew the most revenue, rising 20.5% to €200 million. OPAP put this down to strong retail performance as well as Tzoker’s Mega jackpot, which was the second highest in the game’s history.

Video lottery terminal (VLT) revenue also edged up 0.7% to €83.5 million during Q3. OPAP said this slow growth was due to inflationary pressures caused by the associated cautious consumer behaviour.

The only OPAP segment not to see growth was instant and passives, with revenue falling by 11.9% to €22.5 million. This was put down to weak performances across scratchcards and Laiko games.

Revenue also jumped 16.1% in the sports betting segment to €167.1 million. This, OPAP said, was helped by a busy sporting calendar including the latter part of football’s Euro 2024 early in Q3. It also noted that Q3 last year was negatively impacted by customer-friendly results.

Revenue growth pushes net profit to €120.5 million

Net gaming revenue after agents’ commission and other direct costs increased by 17.8% to €386.8 million. As for operating costs, these were reduced by 12.2% to €100.6 million, despite higher spend across marketing and payroll.

Gross profit from gaming operations increased 25% to €241.9 million. EBITDA for Q3 also climbed by 46.6% to €213.2 million, with an improved margin of 37.7%.

In terms of bottom line, net profit was 44.7% higher at €120.5 million, with a margin of 21.3%, while earnings per share improved 47.7%.

Year-to-date revenue tops €1.65 billion

As to how Q3 impacted year-to-date performance, revenue for the nine months to the end of September was 9.4% higher at €1.65 billion. Performance patterns were similar across each segment, with online casino seeing the most growth (32.8%) and lottery the highest revenue total (€573.1 million).

Net gaming revenue climbed 8.7% to €1.13 billion, while operating expenses were up 5.2% to €314.6 million. Operating profit improved 13.4% to €478.3 million.

Pre-tax profit increased 17.8% to €486.2 million, with net profit after tax up 14.1% to €360.3 million. On top of this, nine-month EBITDA increased by 12.9% to €586.9 million.

“Following the solid performance in the first half of 2024, OPAP has delivered a strong set of results in Q3,” said OPAP CEO Jan Karas, who was also recently appointed as chairman of the group.

“Positive trends continued for sports betting in both channels, driven by a full sports events calendar. Moreover, the online casino vertical sustained its momentum, playing a key role in the substantial growth of our online business.”

Looking ahead, Karas said he is confident that full-year results will be at the higher end of expectations. Preliminary guidance for 2024 set out revenue prospects of €2.15 billion to €2.20 billion and EBITDA €750 million to €770 million.

“Overall, we remain confident that we are well-positioned to meet OPAP’s financial and business objectives for the full year, as well as to deliver on the upper end of our 2024 outlook,” Karas said.