The Greek legal gambling sector is currently experiencing some changes. After the completion of a 1-year review of the local gambling industry, the country’s Ministry of Finance decided to make some of the regulations more relaxed.
The Government of Greece has unveiled a decision to ease wagering restrictions on online casino and poker verticals for local customers. Apart from that, the Government is set to raise the €2 maximum wager on online casino games, including table games and virtual slots) ten times to €20. The values of the maximum slots Jackpot have also been boosted.
The local gambling sector has gladly welcomed the latest decision of the country’s Finance Ministry. All interested entities have shared their satisfaction with the changes, which they believe would help the industry run more smoothly. Reportedly, the new rules would be most beneficial for the 15 companies that currently hold an operating license in the country.
The local gambling regulatory body – the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) – also welcomed the new rules. The president of the HGC, Dimitris Ntzanatos, confirmed that the watchdog believes easing the regulation of the country’s gambling industry was the right approach and the Government’s decision to lift the €2 maximum betting limit would be beneficial for the entire market. Furthermore, the regulator confirmed that it will extend the deadline for companies to join the centralized monitoring system of the county, with gambling operators having until December to connect to it.
Greece Unveils More Relaxed Regulations After Years of Almost No Changes
The Government’s decision to lift the €2 cap has been among the most notable decisions of the local authorities. So far, online gamblers and poker players were allowed to only place €2 as a maximum wager but the cap has now been increased. For the time being, Greece does not intend to allow high-roller gambling online, but the Government still decided to raise the maximum online casino games’ cap to €20, with the new maximum wager applicable to both poker and online casino games.
As mentioned above, the Greek Government also intends to make some of the Jackpot-related regulations more relaxed. Under the most recent changes announced by the local authorities, slots and casino games will now be able to feature a maximum jackpot of €140,000, which is 2 times bigger than the previous maximum jackpot worth €70,000. Last but not least, the operators of virtual slot games will be given the chance to reduce spin times from 3 to 2 seconds.
The aforementioned changes were deployed earlier this month and apply to all online gambling operators on the territory of Greece.
So far, the Greek Government has been pretty cautious when it comes to gambling regulation in the country, so not many changes have been brought by the competent authorities in the industry. In February 2022, the local gambling regulator unveiled a new anonymous telephone line where people can report unauthorized gambling advertising and illegal online gambling platforms. Greece is a regulated market, so the local Government and regulators recognize the dangers represented by the black market and are willing to prevent it from implementing harm to the sector and its customers.
