VLTs project to add one bln euros in state revenue, 5,000 new jobs
OPAP's new VLTs network will bring significant benefits to the Greek economy and society, the group's executive chairman Kamil Ziegler said, addressing a meeting of Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee.
Presenting the project, Ziegler said that the Greek state was losing 300-500 million euros annually from illegal gaming and stressed that, according to a special survey conducted by Deloitte, the VLTs programme could generate an additional 1.0 billion euros in state revenue, create up to 5,000 new jobs and give the real estate market some breathing room, while protecting from exposure to illegal gaming.
"Based on existing parameters, when the project is fully developed, it could bring in revenue of more than 1.0 billion euros over a four-year period. This sum will be added to an existing contribution of OPAP to the Hellenic Republic, totaling around 780 million euros annually," Ziegler said. He noted that the project has a already created more than 1,000 new job positions, adding that for every 100 euros collected by the legal VLTs network of OPAP, 52 euros were channeled to state coffers, directly or indirectly.
Vaggelis Karagrigoriou, president of Hellenic Gaming Commission, said the draft legislation was covering public interest targets, resolving a series of issues and stressed that an existing regulation on VLTs was one of the strictest and most comprehensive in Europe.
Source: amna-mpa