Greeces online gambling market suffered a 40% revenue decline over the first five months of 2020 as sports halted due to COVID-19.

Figures released by the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) show the local online gambling market generated revenue of nearly 150m in the first five months of 2020, a 40% decline from the same period last year.

The year started out well enough with revenue of 49.3m in January, but this slipped to 45m in February, by which time the race to the bottom was well and truly on as the pandemic forced the suspension of most major sports. Revenue slipped to 36.1m in March then hit bottom in April with 29.5m before rebounding slightly to 30m in May.

The Stoiximan betting brand was the unchallenged market leader with a nearly 49% share of the overall pie. Stoiximan started the year off right with revenue of 24.3m in January but this sunk to 14.8m by May.

UK operator Bet365 started the year in the runner-up position by generating around 14.3m in each of the first two months but its over-reliance on sports betting dropped the company to third place by May with just 5.2m.

GVC Holdings Sportingbet brand was in third place for most of the year but narrowly usurped Bet365 in May. Sportingbet weathered the pandemic storm better than most, as its 6.1m score for May was only moderately below Januarys 6.3m.

Greek lottery and betting operator OPAP, which is in the process of acquiring a majority stake in Stoiximan, saw its online revenue almost entirely erased over 2020s first five months. The companys fledgling online operations didnt add casino games until May, leaving it without any options when sports shut down.

Some smaller Greek-facing operators bucked these trends by increasing their revenue over the year-to-date, including Flutter Entertainments PokerStars brand. Stars effectively doubled its revenue from January to April as the lack of sports left customers seeking online casino and poker options that the site had in spades.

Similarly, NetBet more than tripled its revenue from January to May, although the companys Greek presence was minor at the start of the year, putting its May total at only 790k.

Greece recently approved the reopening of its land-based casinos and betting shops, so while the online gambling sector may be on the rebound, its no longer the only game in town.

Meanwhile, the government is proceeding with its plans to relicense its online market after its draft regulations met with little opposition from the European Commission. The HGC is expected to publish the final regulations any week now, after which the license vetting can proceed with purpose toward this oft-delayed conclusion.

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Greece online gambling revenue fell 40% in first five months of 2020 - CalvinAyre.com