According to UK-based gaming company Stanleybet, powerful political forces in Europe are restricting growth.
Two Stanleybet outlets in Greece have been raided and shut down recently, and staff and customers were arrested. The raid followed a complaint by the country’s OPAP betting monopoly that holds the exclusive rights on sports betting and lotteries in Greece until 2020.
The European Commission is now considering infringement cases against a number of countries, including Greece, but some of the cases have been going on for several years. A spokeswoman for the European Commission insisted the reasons for the delays had nothing to do with politics.
Stanleybet requested a licence to operate in Greece in 2005, but the firm has not received any response until now and took the case to the country’s highest court. The case is still pending.
