Greek government commits to regulated online gambling

The Greek government has once again committed to properly and fairly regulating and licensing online gambling in order to replace the highly contentious 24 “temporary” licenses issued and then revoked by government last year, triggering legal actions.

But according to Parliamentary discussions this week a new process will likely bring with it an increase in the already high tax rate of 30 percent of GGR to as much as 35 percent…a major disincentive for operators.

Our readers will recall that earlier this year Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis outlined his vision for a licensed industry, noting that online gambling tax paid to government was a mere Euro 60,000 over the preceding three years due to the legal uncertainty.

Alexiadis seemed confident that the right sort of plan on internet gambling could bring in half a billion much needed Euros for the government, and he envisaged a Euro 3 million fee for a five-year licence in addition to hefty taxation proposals.

It is not yet clear what the government’s intentions are regarding its former monopoly (since sold to private investors) OPAP. Last year the government mulled the preservation of the company’s stranglehold on Greek gambling, considering proposals to restrict online casino action to the company, which is unlikely to sit well with the European Commission.

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