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Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-08-11
CONTENTS
[01] Illegal gambling exceeds 5 bln euros
[01] Illegal gambling exceeds 5 bln euros
ANA-MPa/The turnover in illegal gambling in Greece is approximately
equal to that of the legal turnover of the state-run lottery
organisation OPAP S.A., but given the upward trend of the former, it is
a certainty that the turnover of the illegal betting will increase
disproportionately, according to market organisations.
The annual online betting turnover in Greece is estimated at 4-4.5
billion euros, according to the same sources, while another 0.5-1.0
billion euros turnover is estimated for gaming machines, which are
attracting an increasing number of younger players, including minors.
According to a nationwide survey conducted by ALCO on behalf of OPAP
between 8 and 15 July this year, some 4 in 10 men (43 percent) and 3 in
10 women (32 percent) aged 18-60 play OPAP lotteries and pools, the
most popular of which are the numbers lotteries Joker, Lotto and Kino,
and the sport pool Pame Stoichima.
Thirty-five (35) percent of the respondents said that they
systematically chase their luck in gaming other than the OPAP lotteries
(24.1 percent in lottery tickets, 1.9 percent in casinos and 0.6
percent in horse races, and just 7 percent on the internet and 1
percent in gaming machines).
Although, in numbers, OPAP products come first in players' preferences,
the fewer who engage in other, non-OPAP, betting and gaming play more
frequently (2-4 times more), resulting in a higher weekly expenditure
than for OPAP games, while online gamers also play four times more
frequently than OPAP players and gaming machine players just a little
under the online gamers.
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