Greek regulator warns illegal operators to cease activities
Financial institutions will be prohibited from processing transactions of operators on newly-created blacklist.
The Greek Gambling Commission has warned online operators that have not complied with the country’s new regulatory framework to cease trading by 5 December, according to reports.
The move is a signal of intent from the regulator to curb unlicensed and illegal gambling ahead of the privatisation of OPAP, with a total of eight interested parties vying to acquire the government’s 33% stake in the gambling monopoly.
Should operators fail to cease accepting bets before the deadline, the regulator has threatened legal action as well as creating a blacklist which would see listed members blocked by financial institutions from processing online gambling transactions.
In a notification sent to operators seen by Greek newspaper Imerisia, the regulator also refers to the obligations of internet service providers that are required to prohibit access to illegal operators based on a blacklist the Greek Gambling Commission will create.
Greece announced its intentions to regulate its online gambling market when it passed a law in August 2011, however operator licences have yet to be handed out.
The exact legislation has yet to be clarified and it remains unclear as to exactly which forms of online gaming will be regulated beyond sports betting, bingo and lottery products.
OPAP however, enjoys a monopoly in these areas and is also planning to roll out online casino and poker via a joint venture, should regulation permit it, later in the year. The operator is currently in negotiations over a gaming technology deal with GTECH G2.
Under the proposed law, sports betting will excluded from the initial licensing process, with OPAP retaining its sports betting monopoly until 2020.