The European Gaming and Betting Association agrees with the European Commission’s recent opinion opposing Greece’s draft online gaming legislation.
The lobby group pointed to a number of provisions in the bill that might be in conflict with E.U. law. For example, companies licensed within the E.U. would also need to establish a presence in Greece and have a bank guarantee from a Greek bank.
Greece also wants to limit the number of online licenses, accept bids only from capital companies with a minimum paid-up capital and limit financial transfers to only local banks or local branches of international banks.
Sigrid Ligné, secretary general of EGBA, said, “We share the commission’s assessment of the Greek draft regulation. The requirements in the current draft are highly questionable under E.U. law, and this begs the question as to how viable the future market will be for E.U. licensed operators.”
EGBA believes that the reform of the Greek online gambling market still contains many “practical, technical and legal uncertainties.” As an example, EGBA points out that the current bill is not clear as to what types of games may be offered by E.U. licensed operators.
“We call on the Greek authorities to amend their draft legislation and clarify these crucial points,” said Ligné.
