The Greek government's crackdown on illegal gambling is boosting the fortunes of Opap, the state lottery and betting operator, which yesterday launched bookbuilding for a secondary offering on the Athens stock exchange.

Opap's fixed-odds betting games, covering European soccer and basketball, Formula 1 motor racing and international tennis, have pulled punters away from informal Greek betting operations.

Not only are government officials shy about mentioning the crackdown, they also sound embarrassed about the Greeks' enthusiasm for gambling.

But on international roadshows for the offering, Opap executives are unashamedly bullish about the company's growth potential.

Opap has doubled its share of Greece's Euros 4.2bn (Dollars 4.8bn) gaming market to 42 per cent since it moved into fixed-odds betting.

First-quarter sales jumped 32 per cent to Euros 636m, with the fixed-odds segment accounting for almost three-quarters of revenues.

"The Greeks have become the world leaders in per capita spending on fixed-odds betting and there's room for a lot more growth as the illegal market is gradually driven out of business," says an Athens-based analyst.

With a 20-year exclusive licence for all its current sports betting and lottery games, as well as an exclusive right to operate new sports betting games, Opap is close to enjoying monopoly status in Greece.

Its position is unlikely to be challenged as long as the European Union leaves the regulation of gaming markets to individual member-state governments.

The Opap offering is part of a finance ministry drive to speed the privatisation programme after a slow start this year.

The sale of 77m shares is projected to raise Euros 650m-Euros 700m and reduce the state's shareholding from 76 per cent to 51 per cent.

Opap is counting on international institutions to cover at least 70 per cent of the offering.

Retail investors have shunned the Athens stock market after a sharp fall in share prices last year, while local funds are suffering from a severe liquidity squeeze.

Yet Opap's offering is unlikely to match the success of the previous offering a year ago, which was subscribed almost six times amid strong demand from international institutions.

When bookbuilding is completed today, the share price is likely to be set at the lower end of the Euros 8.50-Euros 9.70 range.

Opap is locked in a dispute with Intralot, a Greek supplier of electronic gaming technology that operates and supports its fixed-odds betting games, over a delay in the launch of betting on international horse and greyhound races.

Intralot is seeking compensation for the delay, including fees paid to Ladbrokes of the UK for assistance with risk management and compiling odds for the racing operation.

Opap has made provisions of Euros 147m to cover potential payments to Intralot, but could have to lay out an additional Euros 70m if it fails to meet the latest deadline for launching the new operation.

In spite of the government's commitment to the deal, there is rising uncertainty over whether the Greek parliament will approve the required legislation before next year's general election.

While Opap is one of the Greek stock market's biggest recent success stories, legislators still need convincing that gaming is a respectable business.