RPT-OPAP agents set indefinite strike over gaming tax

ATHENS, July 10 (Reuters) - Greek sales agents of Europe's biggest betting firm OPAP plan to go on indefinite strike as of next week after Greece raised the tax on winnings, their union said on Friday.

The union, which represents the retail outlets which exclusively sell lottery cards and sports betting games from town centres and other locations across Greece, said the tax move would seriously affect its members' sales of games such as OPAP's flagship sports betting competition Stihima.

Revenue from Stihima reached about 2.2 billion euros ($3.1 billion) last year.

'The government's decision sharply reduces our agencies' turnover,' the union which represents OPAP's 5,300 agents in Greece said in a statement. 'As a result, the board of the union unanimously decided to take ... action to have the law repealed.'

The strike will start on July 16.

Earlier this week, the government passed a law which scrapped the tax-free winnings from lotteries and fixed-odds sports betting games and imposed the tax as part of measures to boost revenue.

Analysts are concerned the taxes could hit Stihima, which already faces stiff competition from online bookmakers who offer higher odds, despite the fact they are illegal in Greece.

OPAP shares, which eased 0.52 euros to 18.30 euros by 1126 GMT, trade at 8 times estimated 2009 earnings, compared with 14.5 times for Lottomatica and 8.8 times for William Hill, according to Reuters Estimates.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.7173 Euro) Keywords: OPAP/STRIKE ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.