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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.…

The new German State Treaty on Gambling applies to all of Germany. Nevertheless, the individual federal states must convert the rules anchored in them into their own law. Bavaria passed the implementation law a few days ago.

In some cases, the federal states could decide for themselves whether and which rules should be adopted from the State Treaty on Gambling. Bavaria, for example, decided to adopt the required minimum distance between the arcades and casinos . Some federal states were against the minimum distance, as several casinos would have to be closed. Such closures result in the layoff of employees.

Bavaria leaves it at a distance of 350 meters between the individual gambling venues. Industry associations had asked to reduce the minimum distance to prevent layoffs. Bavaria did not agree to this, while North Rhine-Westphalia reduced the distance to 100 meters .

The implementation law for Bavaria also stipulates that the online casinos and gambling halls must connect to OASIS on site . This is the player lock file that a casino operator must always have a look at before a customer enters the casino. After all, the player could be banned or he has already exceeded his monthly wagering limit.

Online gambling is regulated by implementation law

The implementation law decides how online gambling will work in the future. Exact details have not yet been released. A press release announced that online gambling should now be regulated. From now on all gambling fans can legally challenge their luck. Player protection comes first. But the Bavarian government also thought of the gambling halls and would like to issue three new licenses . In this way the preservation of the gambling halls is to be ensured.

However, in order to bring both ideas together, several restructurings have to be made. This is the only way to secure the gambling halls and guarantee a high level of player protection. However, not everyone sees it that way and there is criticism from government circles. The Greens abstained from voting and indicated during the meeting that they would agree with the law on a number of points. A few other points, however, would not have been adequately discussed. For example, the Greens called for a distance between gambling halls and schools. Merely a distance between the individual business premises would not be sufficient.…

A few days ago, 91 slot machines were seized in Austria. These were located at a total of 17 locations. The police achieved this great success by using a certain trick. Only in this way was it possible to confiscate the mentioned number of illegally installed slot machines in one night.

The trick that led to the success was ingenious and simple at the same time. There were 28 policemen and 51 employees of the Financial Police used, which also occurred at 17 locations. This prevented the operators of the illegal gambling dens from informing each other, as is normally the case. The places visited by the police included Vienna, Wels, Linz and Traun.

Interestingly enough, compared to before, the police had no problem entering the gambling dens. Usually the doors are locked and the police have had to break them open several times. This was not the case the night two days ago. The police were allowed in and most of the machines could be removed without any problems. Only a couple of slot machines were bolted to the floor so the fire department removed them.

The police were amazed at the number of slot machines in the individual “businesses”. Often more than 10 machines were found. The police were unsuccessful at only one location because the suspected gambling den was not in operation.

There is a threat of restaurant closings

Of course, not only were the slot machines seized, the operators of the illegal gambling dens can probably expect high fines. Another problem comes up for the owners or operators of the locations in which the games took place: The games took place in narrow streets that were considered closed. Anyone who wanted access to the restaurant had to undergo an access control.

The operators of these restaurants expect a closure in many cases . Such a closure is pronounced by the state police and has now also been implemented. Such a penalty could lead to a decrease in the number of illegal gambling dens in the future. At least Austria’s Finance Minister Blümel is proud of the police’s success. The police have also recently been able to secure numerous machines. In September 2020, 177 machines were seized in just one night .

The police can only achieve such a success if the relevant investigations are carried out beforehand. This always seems to be the case. But one problem always remains: the people behind the illegal games can never be identified. So the problem remains that there will always be new gambling dens. As long as the masterminds are not caught , the general problem will not be solved.

Reasons for the illegal games

Some may ask why there are so many illegal game rounds in Austria in the first place. This may be due to the fact that only two gaming providers in Austria have a license to operate a casino or amusement arcade: Novomatic and Casinos Austrias. This reduces the offer and the players may not find their favorite game. On the other hand, the legal venues were not allowed to be open due to the Corona regulation. Anyone who wanted to challenge their luck live with other players joined the illegal games.

Online casinos are not always the best choice in Austria either, as this offer is also limited by the government. This may also be a reason why there are always new illegal gambling halls. The fact that land-based machines will decrease even more in Austria in the future does not really help in the fight against illegal gambling.

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