The competition will be overseen by Growthfund, in its role as the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations, which serves as the Greek state’s sovereign wealth and asset management vehicle.
Established in the wake of the financial crisis, Growthfund is mandated to manage and enhance the value of public assets, promote good governance, and generate long-term value for the Greek economy. It acts as the sole shareholder on behalf of the Hellenic Republic and is responsible for supervising, restructuring, and tendering concessions for strategic state-owned assets and enterprises.
The tender process will grant the selected operator the exclusive right to produce, manage, operate, promote and commercially exploit six major lottery products on behalf of the Greek state for a period of at least 10 years. These include the Instant State Lottery, the State Housing Lottery, the Popular Lottery, the Special Social National Lottery, the National Lottery, and the Extraordinary or Special Lottery drawn by the European Association of State Lotteries (AELLE).
The launch of this new concession marks a significant transition in the governance of Greek lottery products. OPAP SA the country’s biggest gambling group, has been the principal steward of the Greek National Lottery since its inception in 1990.
In 2013, OPAP — through its special purpose vehicle Hellenic Lotteries S.A. — was awarded a 12-year exclusive concession to operate the entire portfolio of state lotteries. That agreement, set to expire later this year, included an upfront payment of €190m to the state and guaranteed annual revenue contributions, while assigning full operational responsibility to OPAP.
The international procedure now underway will take place in two stages. In Phase A, interested parties are invited to submit an expression of interest by 16:00 on 23 July 2025. Growthfund will then assess applications and select qualified participants to advance to Phase B, where binding offers will be submitted and evaluated.
Detailed information on the procedure, eligibility criteria, and submission guidelines is available in the Invitation for Expression of Interest, published on Growthfund’s official website under the dedicated StateLotteriesEoI portal.
Industry observers now await to see who will step forward to challenge OPAP in the upcoming competition — at a time of inflection for many European lotteries, as markets modernise, digitalise, and reassess the long-term value of state-backed gaming operations.
Dingnews.com 08/07/2025