Greece to push ahead with online gambling licensing plans

The Greek government has announced that it is to proceed with proposals to revise the country’s licensing regime regarding online gambling.

Having fist touted the idea last year, Greece’s Syriza government now plans to roll out a system through which online licences would cost €3 million ($3.3 million) for a five-year period, with operators also required to prepay minimum tax of €1 million per year.

Precise tax rates are yet to be confirmed, while the government is yet to specify the products that operators would be able to offer to players in the country.

Greek Deputy Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis said the plan could generate up to €500 million per year for the country’s government.

In 2011, some 24 gambling operators, including major brands such as William Hill and Betfair, were granted temporary licences in the country.

However, the permits were revoked in the following year as the government attempted to boost the pre-sale value of former state-owned betting monopoly OPAP.

In January 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that OPAP’s monopoly was unlawful, with the decision leading to a standstill until the new proposals from Syriza were unveiled in March of last year.

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