Card Player – The online gambling situation in Greece is becoming increasingly interesting.
Late last month, Greece released a list of 401 blacklisted online gaming sites. The names on the list included PartyPoker.com and 888Poker.com. The country is not trying to ban the activity, but instead trying to control where its citizens place their wagers.
The situation stems from the state wanting to make sure the Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A (referred to as OPAP), of which it owns about a third of, has exclusive rights to offer web betting within its borders, instead of letting foreign firms on the black list participate as well.
The OPAP already has a monopoly on brick-and-mortar betting in the country.
Some feel that Greece’s approach is very problematic and ineffective.
According to reporting from ekathimerini.com, “Law 4002/2011 makes licensing for online gambling harder and foresees hefty penalties for infringements, yet without the cooperation of telecom providers, banks, police and judicial authorities, it seems unlikely that the phenomenon will be curbed.” In other words, illicit betting will still occur.
The online gambling move has prompted a very complex legal battle, but that hasn’t stopped some companies — such as powerhouses William Hill and Betfair — from abandoning ship in the country’s cyberspace. Others, though, are deciding to continue operating as the legality of the Greece regulatory system is ascertained and challenged.
