INTRALOT, as the organizer of the Greek Sports Betting Game, through its subsidiary BETTING COMPANY S.A., announces that it agreed with OPAP S.A to undertake a number of measures for the upgrade and improvement of the content, the terms and the infrastructure of the sports betting game “Stihima”.

The downward trend that “Stihima” has shown is mainly due to the increase of the market share of illegal betting through the Internet and the increased traffic in the network of terminals after the introduction of KENO that resulted in queues in the agencies. The agreement between INTRALOT and OPAP aims to improve the competitiveness of the game and make it more appealing to the players.
   
The main points of the agreement are the following:
1) For the enrichment of the gaming content, the following additional types and betting events have been agreed upon:
 

1. Gradual introduction of the Greek championships as betting events in the game “Stihima” from the beginning of the Championship season 2005-2006, in combination with foreign championships’ matches.
2. Over/under betting, which means the prediction of exceeding, or not, some arithmetic limits during an athletic event. For example: sum of goals, cards, penalties (in football), sum and difference of points (in basketball) etc.
3. Betting during the conduct of a match (in-play betting).
4. Introduction of additional athletic events, like tennis, volley, polo, handball, where one will have to predict the winner of a tournament, the winner of a group, or the participants in the final.
5. Expansion of betting in additional motor-sport events.
6. Introduction of betting in non-athletic events, like international or cultural contests etc.
   The implementation of the above additional types of betting will require the issuance of new rules and amendment of the existing rules of the game and their approval with mutual ministerial decisions.

2) Given that the content mentioned above includes bets with a an increased payout and based on the existing contract with OPAP S.A. it has been agreed that the payout for the period January 31st, 2005 – January 29th, 2007 will increase by 6% totally. OPAP will participate by 90% in the payout differential (i.e. the 6% difference) and INTRALOT will participate by 10%. With the introduction of Greek game betting, starting in the 2005-2006 championship period, OPAP will participate by 82% in the increased payout, while INTRALOT will participate by 18%.

3) During the term of the agreement INTRALOT will provide to OPAP free-of-charge 2,000 new terminals mainly for the support of Stihima. The installation of the new terminals will take place in parallel with the upgrading of OPAP’s technological platform and will be completed within 8 months after the required approvals mentioned in paragraph 1 are received. The upgrade of OPAP’s technological platform, coupled with the installation of the new terminals is expected to decongest the agent sales network and to permit the safe and efficient handling of the expected increased turnover of Stihima.

The above agreement is expected to be a significant mean for containing illegal gambling and is expected to increase the turnover and the profitability of Stihima.   

INTRALOT SA CEO, Mr Constantinos Antonopoulos, said: “We are very pleased for reaching this agreement with OPAP, since these measures will contribute decisively to the competitiveness of the largest Sports Betting Game worldwide. This particular game had experienced a downward trend the last few months, due to competition arising from internet betting and illegal gaming. This new agreement is expected to foster the Greek Sports Betting Game to the mutual benefit for both INTRALOT and OPAP S.A.”
          
          
INTRALOT, a public company listed on the ASE, is a leading supplier of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative game content and value added services to state-licensed gaming organizations worldwide. With 31 subsidiaries, 7 business offices and 1,500 people in 28 countries and revenues of € 328.5 million, INTRALOT’s footprint straddles five continents. The company currently ranks 3rd on revenues and 2nd on profits among lottery suppliers worldwide.