For several years, Greece, like other state-members of the European Union, has been pressed to open its gambling market for foreign online gambling operators. Despite the fact that the Government took the accusations of protectionism to heart and some progress has been made in the area, the accusations still remain. In 2011 Greece organized 24 interim licenses for online gambling companies, such as William Hill and Ladbrokes, while the details of new laws were being organized. The following year it was decided to essentially scrap this idea and continue to keep a monopoly in the sector though OPAP, as the country had in land based gambling. Gambling Laws in Greece. Gambling in Greece is legal under the Law 4002/2011, which refers to land-based as well as to online gambling.The body responsible for the regulation of gambling activities in the country is the Hellenic Gaming Commission which was established by the same law. Politicians tried once again to regulate Greek gambling sites with a bill passed in 2011. This bill was sold as a liberalization of the market that would allow online gambling operators to obtain licenses in Greece. The licensing system was also sold as a way to raise money for the indebted government. Online gambling is hugely popular in Greece and makes up a significant part of the country’s economy. The appetite of Greek players for gambling action is perhaps best illustrated by OPAP, or the Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics which is widely regarded as being Europe’s biggest betting firm – no mean feat considering that it operates almost exclusively in Greece and Cyprus.

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Further requirements published in Greece’s approved new gambling bill, will require affiliate marketing partners to register and pay a €1,000 licensing fee with the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC).

This October, following a year of deliberation, the Greek Parliament progressed final amendments of its new gambling bill, which will introduce a modern regulatory framework for online gambling services.

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Serving as lead regulatory authority, the HGC is set to monitor and process all licensing application for Greece’s newly regulated markets with regards to operators, technology suppliers and marketing partners.

A new regulatory framework will see operators pay €3 million for permits related to sports betting and casino games.

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For marketing incumbents, the Greek government has sanctioned HGC to act as a registry for authorised marketing partners, in which licensees will only be approved to conduct Greek consumer-facing promotions with affiliates approved by the regulatory body

The 24 online operators issued with temporary Greek licenses in 2011 will be allowed to continue operating under these licences until 31 March 2020, but will then be forced to reapply for new certification. However, those operators ‘black-listed’ in the year prior to licensing won’t be eligible.

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As expected, the Greek government has retained its 35% GGR tax charge but repealed a section of the 2011 gambling law that allowed online licensees to deduct this tax payment from their 20% corporate tax obligations.

Greek online casinos should support the Greek language, while offering the Euro as a currency option. In the past 10 years, most of the biggest, most successful European casino properties have added Greek to the list of languages they support, while the Euro is compulsory in European casinos–more widespread than the casinos in UK pound and as widespread as the US dollar. Greek online casino gamblers have plenty of options when they start to pick a favorite casino, but a few obstacles do add complications.

First of all, no Greek-licensed and Greek-operated online casinos exist, because the online gambling laws remain in a state of flux in the Greek nation. It looks like changes are coming in the near-future, but it’s uncertain whether those changes will be for the better or the worse. The future of online casino gaming in Greece hangs in the balance at the moment as the Greek parliament continues to play hardball with global electronic gambling interests, but certain signs point to the fact that a suitable resolution could be had in the comings years–maybe even months.