RGA to launch fresh complaint in Greek courts
Lobby group confident of filing opposition to EU country's legislation before 14 February deadline.
Lobby group the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) is preparing to launch a complaint against Greek gaming legislation in the country’s courts, its chief executive has told eGaming Review.
It has already filed two official complaints to the European Commission on state aid and anti-competition grounds, and will now bring its case to the Greek legislature before the 14 February deadline.
RGA CEO Clive Hawkswood (pictured) explained to eGR that its main point of contention is the requirement for all licence applicants to pay back-taxes for both 2010 and 2011.
The deadline for operators to commit to such a payment fell earlier this week, with only four operators “ none of them among the bigger players in the Greek market “ known to have agreed to the terms.
“We hope [Greece] will review it and pull the whole idea “ applying retrospective tax is not reasonable. We’re hoping that good sense will prevail.” Hawkswood explained.
“You’re being asked to pay tax on an activity they haven’t even provided licences for yet. Lots of companies will be willing to apply and pay tax at the right level, however at the moment it represents a huge one-off hit to those with a significant presence in the Greek market,” he added.
Hawkswood accepted that “Given everything happening there [with the economy] it’s more problematic than in a lot of other countries,” but remains keen to enter into discussions with Greek politicians about the actual levels of tax further down the line.
“The trouble is the background has changed so much “ the relationship had been very good and we had been talking at a detailed level about technical structures and establishing a subcommittee to deal with issues until the financial crash brought about change of personnel and other elements,” he explained.”
Egaming regulation in Greece was rushed through in August 2011 in the midst of concerns about the country’s economy, having been delayed earlier in the year when the ruling socialist party (PASOK) expressed its concerns.
As well as the RGA and fellow lobby group the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), operators such as Betfair had opposed the regulatory terms even before their passage into law, and despite some changes to the legislation the Gibraltar-based operator pledged to “continue to engage with the Greek Government…working on elements of the law which we believe could be brought more into line with EU principles.”