OPAP, the largest gaming operator in Greece, reported a slight increase in gaming revenue in the first nine months of the year but warned that conditions remain “fragile.”

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Wagers were up 2.7 per cent to €3.061bn, although wagers in the third quarter fell 15.7 per cent due to a drop in consumer spending in July. This partially recovered in August and September, the company noted.

Gross gaming revenue improved 3.8 per cent to €998m for the period, despite a 12.9 per cent drop in the third quarter.

EBITDA, meanwhile, was up 14.4 per cent at €273.5m, and net profit stood at €159.1m, compared with the €119m reported in the corresponding period in 2014.

“Q3 2015 was marked by unprecedented conditions in a touch domestic macro-economic environment,” said chairman and CEO Kamil Ziegler. “Consumer spending in July 2015 stood on the edge of the fiscal cliff, while our efforts towards securing our business, together with gradual sentiment normalisation, led to a recovery in the remaining part of the quarter. Overall, we ere able to contain the drop to single digit on an EBITDA level, while OPAP still managed to grow in all metrics on a year-to-date basis.”

OPAP was awarded the exclusive right to operate video lottery terminals in street locations but the planned roll-out was hit by late regulation changes by the Hellenic Gaming Commission. In September, the company described the project as “no longer economically viable,” as a result.

Ziegler continued: “Going forward, the macro-economic environment remains fragile, while abrupt and ineffective interventions in several fields of our operating framework will lead our company to face considerable challenges. We therefore remain absolutely focused on defending and exploiting our established rights on every possible front.”