Greece Threatens Unlicensed Online Firms With Black List, Prison

Greece’s gambling regulator has given unlicensed operators until December 6 to switch off their Greek websites or risk being put on a black list and ten years of jail-time.

Greece’s gambling regulator has given unlicensed operators until December 6 to switch off their Greek websites or risk being put on a black list and ten years of jail-time. The Hellenic Gaming Commission said it started to issue warnings on November 5, calling for the many online gambling companies without a Greek licence to cease operations. “The commission regrets to inform that, by the end of the one-month period, that is as of December 6, 2012, will activate the black list, and commence enforcement,” the Athens-based regulator wrote in a public notice last week. Those on the black list will have their websites blocked by internet providers and their bank transactions interrupted, the regulator said. They will also be committing a felony and face at least ten years in prison, an additional fine of €200,000-€500,000 and severe administrative penalties, it added. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power and London-listed Sportingbet are the only two large European firms with a temporary Greek licence and so are exempt from the threat. Many others chose not to apply for a licence at the end of 2011, which involved paying two years of retrospective taxes and customers’ winning charges. Instead, UK betting operators Betfair, William Hill and Bet365 put their names to a complaint to the Greek council of state and the European Commission about the legality of Greece’s online gambling regime. The Remote Gaming Association, of which all three are members, is currently taking legal advice in Athens and Brussels about challenging the black list threat as well. Sigrid Ligne, secretary general of another online gambling group, the European Gaming and Betting Association, said yesterday: “Despite Greece showing an intention to reform, which we welcome, the fact remains that its old and new gambling laws are not EU compliant.

The European Commission has an infringement case open against the old law and is investigating a complaint over the new law, passed by Greece’s parliament in August 2011. The Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC), introduced in that law and formed in November 2011, has so far focused on a €32,000 daily fine for Greece’s video games ban, as well as the privatisation of Hellenic Lotteries and sports betting monopoly OPAP. However, in its note last week, the regulator said it was taking action on online gambling after initial research showed many firms offering unlicensed services in Greece. The best regulation comes from “warning and compliance”, and the help of fellow regulators, the commission said. “HGC asks for the support and will appreciate proactivity on the part of fellow regulators, to inform and strongly advise such possible providers to comply and interrupt their service provision,” it said. Until Greece’s finance ministry launches a public tender for online gambling licences, the only temporary permits are those issued to 24 firms at the start of the year. London-listed Bwin.Party, seen as the Greek online market leader, was not one of them. Instead, Bwin’s closest rival in the Greek market, Sportingbet, was on the list alongside unfamiliar names like “Love 2 Celebrate”, “Diamond Link” and “Doms Cars Ltd”.

Source: http://www.gaminglawmasters.com/