OPAP SIGNS 5 YEAR CONTRACT WITH INTRALOT
Monday July 8,2013 : OPAP SIGNS 5 YEAR CONTRACT WITH INTRALOT
Emma Delta may revisit terms of new contracts
Amid the ups and downs of the drawn-out privatisation of OPAP, INTRALOT has announced the signing of a five-year IT contract with the Greek state-owned gambling monopoly today (Monday) which is sure to prove controversial in the context of the 33 percent stake consortium Emma Delta has recently acquired, due for completion by the end of this quarter .
The contract comprises two parts, the implementation segment and a service agreement. In parallel, once the new central system contract begins, the agreement signed for the provision of maintenance and technological support services of OPAP agencies’ infrastructure will be activated. The duration of this agreement is for two years with three one-year renewal options. INTRALOT has also signed an extension to its current contract with OPAP S.A. until the new system is up and running.
The implementation contract includes the commissioning and installation of the infrastructure, software and other services with the goal to initiate live operations and user licenses for Greece and Cyprus within the agreed time-frame of seven months.
The combined value of the implementation contract and the services agreement contract is Euro 101 million, whereas the value of the agreement for the provision of the maintenance and technological support services of OPAP agencies’ infrastructure is a total of Euro 46 million for the first two years declining by Euro 1 million per annum for each subsequent annual extension.
In related news, Consortium Emma Delta put rumour to rest over the weekend saying the deal is still on despite media reports speculating otherwise.
Emma Delta spokesperson Jiri Smejc said that conditions involving a possible conflict of interest tied to the instant lottery contract with Intralot and Scientific Games may be revisited at a later stage but as it stands the group expects the privatisation deal to be concluded in September.
“That would not cause any delay in the privatisation process. I don’t see any immediate or significant risk that would delay or block the deal. We don’t want to change any conditions in the OPAP privatisation. We expect the management of OPAP in the interim period to adhere to international best practice,” Smejc told Reuters.
