Workers at Opap SA (OPAP), a listed Greek
gambling operator, called a 24-hour strike tomorrow to oppose a
plan by the Greek government to sell part or all of its 34
percent stake in the company.

“The sale would be a real crime against the state,” the
board of the Athens-based company’s workers union said in an e-
mailed statement. With gaming licenses and proper regulation,
the state can increase its annual income from Opap to as much as
1.5 billion euros ($2.1 billion), from 700 million euros now,
according to the statement.

The government may sell its stake in the first quarter of
next year and plans to extend Opap’s sports-betting monopoly,
which currently runs until 2020, by the end of September. The
stake has a current market value of 1.4 billion euros.

Opap shares rose 1.6 percent to 12.9 euros at 11:01 a.m. in
Athens trading today, ending a two-day decline.

The government announced yesterday that it plans to
accelerate state asset sales and real-estate development, to
raise 50 billion euros by 2015. Its debt may peak at 166 percent
of gross domestic product next year, according to European
Commission estimates released on May 13.

“The extension of Opap’s license and its privatization at
a later time will positively affect the company’s investment
case,” Marfin Analysis analyst Dimitris Birbos said in an e-
mailed note today.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Natalie Weeks in Athens at
nweeks2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Angela Cullen at
acullen8@bloomberg.net