As in other countries, Greece has now licensed online gambling. The gaming authority Hellenic Gaming Commission is responsible for this. This has now issued a license to three gambling groups. We would now like to explain who can be happy about it and who can possibly also expect a license.
The Greek supervisory authority has indicated that it would like to issue a total of 15 licenses. The negative touch lies in the relatively strict regulations that apply to Greece. Apart from this, the gambling providers have to invest large sums in order to obtain the license. The license for sports betting costs three million euros, for other games of chance the corporations have to pay two million euros .
Bet365 starts with the Lucky Stream brand, while Betshop calls its online games B2B Gaming. Betsson has already spoken out in public and is delighted with the trust that Greece has placed in him. This provider addresses the players with two portals . Sports betting is offered on the one hand, and classic casino games on the other . The license for both areas was granted for seven years.
For Betsson, Greece is the 18th market in which it can offer its range. In order to offer the player the most extensive and, above all, safe gaming experience, Betsson has joined forces with other providers. We have also already worked with the most important payment service providers .
Licensing has been running since 2019
The starting shot for online gambling was given in 2019. It was then that the first regulations were developed that are a prerequisite for a license. In addition, strict tax rules apply to Greece . Up until now, gaming providers were allowed to deduct gaming tax from their income, and corporation tax was calculated from the profit determined in this way. From now on it will work in such a way that the gambling tax is no longer deducted. Instead, corporation tax is payable first. This increases it drastically. The gambling tax remains at 35 percent. So the hope for a lower gambling tax has not been fulfilled.
Another requirement is that the gaming group must have its headquarters in Greece or a European country. However, it is important that the server is in Greece and that the homepage ends in .gr. The financial burden of the licensing process arises not only from the costs of 10,000 euros. The company must make a deposit of 200,000 euros – in addition to a deposit of 500,000 euros.
A license is only granted to those companies that reveal their annual reports from the last few years. To compensate for these strict rules, the license will be extended from five to seven years . It is also interesting and positive that the providers are finally allowed to present random online sports betting and online games. According to the first draft, this was not allowed.
Greece adapts to other countries
It is not clear whether Greece is legalizing online gambling because other countries are doing so or whether it was an idea of its own. Perhaps the reason is simply that online casinos are very popular and there is a risk that players will turn to illegal providers. To prevent this from happening, gambling was licensed. This means that players can be sure that there is a high level of player protection. Nevertheless, everyone must be aware that they can lose a large amount. To counteract this, Germany has set a monthly bet limit . This was not yet known from Greece.
So the players have to protect themselves by setting a personal bet limit. If this is exceeded, casino games such as roulette or slot machines can no longer be used. It looks different with a new online casino. Registration can be done at any time and a welcome bonus will be granted. A deposit must be made for this so that the bonus offered is credited. The required deposit can be made at any time in a country where there is no legal stake limit.
In a country with a wagering limit, however, the first deposit cannot be made if the monthly limit has been reached. Seen in this way , these countries offer more security , even if this is not in the interests of the players.