Internet gambling impacts Greek land action

In the period from January to November 2011 the total turnover of Greek land casinos dropped by 18.5 percent compared with the same period in 2010, adding up to Euro 382.2 million, reports the Greek daily Ekathimerini.

Last year’s drop exacerbated a declining market that sank 17.7 percent in 2010 and 16 percent in 2009, creating a negative impact on already strained state revenues, as besides corporate tax, the state receives between 20 and 33 percent of the casinos’ turnover.

The decline is attributed to the drop in the disposable income of Greeks, to the proliferation of illegal gambling and to the uncontrolled expansion of Internet gambling.

Market experts this week pointed to the similarly negative picture in games of chance such as state lotteries and racing, banishing the myth that people resort to more gambling in times of economic crisis.

The turnover in such games and betting in Greece contracted by about 20 percent in 2011, dropping to Euro 7 billion from Euro 8.5 billion in 2010. State gaming company OPAP saw its revenues contract by 17 percent in the year to September.

Related and similar