The Greek Parliament started debating the gambling bill last night and is due to conclude tomorrow.
The standstill period for the bill’s notification to the EC doesn’t end until August 8 but the Greeks may have agreed the law by August 5.
A Remote Gambling Association spokesperson commented: “There are concerns within the licensed private gambling industry about the apparent disregard of the EC’s notification process and standstill period by the Greek authorities. The disregard for those protocols and the acceleration of this legislation comes at a time when Greece is receiving significant financial support from the EU. The bill, while welcome in a broad sense by private operators, many of which are UK companies, clearly provides commercial advantages to the existing state-owned OPAP operator over EU private sector businesses.
“A particular OPAP advantage is the imposition of a ‘black out’ period during which no new licences will be available and where no private operators will be able to offer services while OPAP will continue to operate and provide services to Greek consumers. This is one of a number of potentially discriminatory aspects of the law towards the regulated EU private gambling sector.”
Betfair recently filed a complaint with the European Commission about Greece’s draft law, stating that it had been unfairly excluded from the Greek market.
An update once the debate has concluded will follow.
