iGaming Business – Fears that the Greek government will extend OPAP’s gaming monopoly to online appear to have been calmed following the news that the European Commission is digging in its heels over what it sees as a state subsidy.
The Greek rumour mill had previously suggested that, DG MARKT, the Internal Market and Services Directorate General of the Commission, had given the green light to the proposed Greek law that would grant OPAP an online monopoly and revoke the interim authorisations currently in use by a number of operators.
The government’s Gaming Monitoring Committee had sent the proposals to the European Commission back in March 2013 for the traditional three month standstill period to allow consultation but the legislation has been in limbo ever since. However, although DG MARKT may have been favourable to the proposals, the competition arm of the commission appears less keen on allowing the law as it flies in the face of all current competition rules and may fall foul of landmark rulings at the Euroean Court of Justice, as well as being considered a state subsidy.
According to an article published on April 11th in the Greek daily Kathimerini, “the government is pushing for OPAP to have the exclusive rights for internet betting in Greece, but the Commission appears to be resisting that pressure. Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras is said to be caught in a battle between Athens and Brussels on the issue: the prime minister’s office is pressing for the regulations that will hand over the monopoly on internet betting to OPAP to be tabled in Parliament, while the European Union’s executive branch keeps asking for explanations regarding when and how much OPAP paid to acquire such a right”.
The problem for the Greeks is that it is not possible for them to demonstrate that OPAP actually paid for the right to offer online gambling, as when the company was originally granted its 20-year gaming monopoly back in 2001, there appears to have been no specific mention of online gaming.
