OPAP CEO Karas replaces Ziegler as chairman

Karas officially became the group’s chairman yesterday (1 October). He will serve in the role and lead the OPAP board alongside his current position as CEO.

Karas replaces Kamil Ziegler who has stepped down as chair for personal reasons. Ziegler, however, will remain an executive member of the OPAP board of directors.

The appointment comes on the back of a recommendation of the OPAP remuneration and nomination committee.

Karas to lead 11-member OPAP board

As chair, Karas will lead the OPAP board, which now comprises 11 members. Another change to the board has seen Cherrie Mae Chiomento-Ferreria, an independent non-executive member, become vice-chair.

Other board members include Pavel Šaroch, a non-executive member who is also serving as vice-chairman. OPAP CFO Pavel Mucha is an executive member alongside former-chairman Ziegler.

Robert Chvátal, Katarina Kohlmayer and Igor Rusek are non-executive members. In addition, Nicole Conrad-Forker, Theodore Panagos and Georgios Mantakas are serving on the board as independent non-executive members.

Online casino drives revenue growth at OPAP in H1

The board changes come just a few short weeks after OPAP published its H1 financial results. These revealed a 5.6% year-on-year increase in gross gaming revenue, driven by growth in the online casino segment.

Group revenue for the six months to 30 June amounted to €1.08bn (£900.2m/$1.19bn). This is ahead of the €1.03bn reported in H1 of last year.

Lottery and betting were again the primary sources of revenue for OPAP at €373.1m and €350.1m, respectively. However, it was online casino where the group witnessed the most growth.

Revenue from online casino increased 24.2% year-on-year to €140.3m. OPAP said this was due to increased player engagement, with penetration of games at record levels. In total, online casino accounted for 13% of H1 revenue.

Bottom-line net profit of €237m, a rise of 3.6% year-on-year. However, EBITDA slipped 0.2% to €373.7m.