Greece Agrees to Sell Stake in State-Owned Betting Firm

ATHENS — In Greece’s first major privatization deal since the country’s debt crisis erupted three years ago, the government on Wednesday agreed to sell a controlling stake in the state gambling company OPAP to Emma Delta, a Greek-Czech investment fund, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said.

“The first major privatization in our country has been completed successfully,” Mr. Stournaras said.

Emma Delta is buying a 33 percent stake in OPAP, making it the company’s largest shareholder. Greece’s state privatization fund said the purchase price was €652 million, or $860.5 million, with Greece also retaining €60 million in dividends.

The government last month rejected a €622 million offer from Emma Delta, which was the sole bidder for the stake.

Mr. Stournaras did not comment on what the deal might mean for OPAP’s 1,000 employees.

OPAP was Greece’s most profitable company last year, with net profit of €505.5 million. About two-thirds of that came from lottery games, with the rest from sports betting.

Mr. Stournaras said the deal would have “multiple” benefits for Greece as it “demonstrates the trust of investors in the Greek economy.”

He added that Greece’s privatization drive, which has failed to take off over the past three years, would contribute to “accelerating the country’s exit from the crisis.”

Online Betting Site Intrade Faces Liquidation

The online betting Web site Intrade, which gained widespread notice for serving as a predictions platform for elections and events not related to sports, is facing liquidation because of a $700,000 cash shortfall, a development that comes a month after it halted trading and froze its customer accounts.

Intrade’s director, Ronald Bernstein, said in a statement that the shortfall resulted from unspecified actions by two other parties, whom he did not name. The potential liquidation was first reported late Friday by Business Insider.

“We are now very confident about the reasons which caused the current circumstance of the company; however, for legal reasons we are not yet at liberty to document them to you,” the statement said. “I can confirm that the company, if it is able, intends to vigorously pursue two substantial monetary claims against two distinct parties for an aggregate amount greater than $3,500,000.”

“If the company is not able to rectify this cash shortfall position very quickly, the company will become insolvent and therefore is very likely to go into liquidation,” the statement said.

The 14-year-old company’s Web site functioned as a gambling hub for professional and amateur investors, letting customers buy and sell contracts tied to the outcome of a future event. It had often been cited for its predictive abilities on matters including the outcomes of American presidential elections and the probability of developments like an Israeli airstrike against Iran.

Last month, the company announced that it had halted trading after auditors found potential financial irregularities involving more than $1.5 million in payments to Intrade’s founder, John Delaney, and other unnamed third parties. Mr. Delaney died in 2011 as he tried to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

The move to halt trading came just months after Intrade shut its Web site to United States residents after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint accusing the company of offering contracts outside traditional exchanges and without regulatory approval. The commission also accused the company of filing false forms with regulators.

In its statement Friday, the company asked for “forbearance” from its remaining account holders so that it could resume “limited operations” as it tries to sort out its finances and recover money through its claims.

“If sufficient forbearance has not been achieved, it seems extremely likely that the company will be forced into liquidation,” the statement said.