One of the five main axes of the Hellenic Game Commission’s strategic planning which is under approval and will determine its actions in the period 2023-2027 is the support of the long-term viability of the gaming industry, the implementation of new investments, innovation and extroversion.
The Commission stated that “its obligation is to ensure that the companies it supervises are financially viable and do not end up as problematic companies”, giving immediate priority to the casino market.
The remaining four strategic axes included in the plan concern the effective protection of players and the optimization of the overall positive footprint of the gaming market, the minimization of illegal and irregular behavior in the field of gambling and its negative effects, adequate staffing, organizational restructuring and enhancing the logistical infrastructure of the Commission in order to boost its supervisory, guiding and controlling role, as well as the continuous development of its extroversion and the strengthening of the transparency of its operation.
The Hellenic Game Commission pointed out that among its immediate priorities is the submission of proposals to the new government in order to amend the regulatory and legal framework governing casinos. As highlighted “there are sustainability issues regarding casinos located in tourism areas as well as issues of abusive implementation of operating a single domain for certain periods.”
On the Rio Casino, the Commission noted that it is monitoring the case and hopes that the contradictions will be settled and that its restructuring will proceed. A similar assessment was made for the Casinos of Alexandroupolis and Corfu, the relocation of which was approved a few days ago.
Market
Regarding the course of the market in January-April 2023, the figures of the Hellenic Game Commission show that the total turnover (Total Gaming Revenue, TGR) was 11.6 billion euros compared with 8.5 billion euros in the corresponding period last year. The gross revenue of gaming providers (GGR) during the same period amounted to 846.6 million euros compared with 727.2 million euros in the corresponding period of 2022. OPAP’s (agencies and VLT’s) turnover (TGR) surged to 2.19 billion euros in January-April 2023 compared with 1.7 billion euros in the previous year and GGR rose to 456.2 million euros compared with 407.8 million euros in the same period last year.
