Greek govt, OPAP agree gambling license deal

The Greek government and the country's sports betting monopoly OPAP have agreed the outlines of a 1 bln euro ($1.37 bln) deal to extend the company's concession and award it new gaming licences, newspaper Kathimerini said on Thursday, without citing sources.
Greece aims to extend OPAP's monopoly by 10 years and grant it a licence to install 35,000 more gaming machines this year as part of a 50 bln euro privatisation programme under its EU/IMF bailout.
International lenders have said Greece must deliver 1.7 bln euros ($2.3 bln) from state asset sales by September 30 and a total of 5 bln euros by year-end as a key condition for Athens to receive further aid and stave off bankruptcy.
Kathimerini said OPAP would pay part of the money for the extended concession up front and the rest in instalments over the next 12 to 18 months.
But an official at the partly state-owned company dismissed the report.
"Discussions on the price haven't concluded. There is no preliminary agreement," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Finance Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
Under Greece's bailout plan, the OPAP deal was supposed to go through by the end of September, and the company's CEO told Reuters earlier this month that he expected to sign a preliminary agreement on the deal by that date.
Greece has promised its lenders it would raise 5 bln euros by the end of the year. But the full-year target will be revised downwards to 3 bln euros, Kathimerini said on Thursday, citing "well-informed sources".