By L. Kalamara
[email protected]
A draft bill on gaming - including online betting and casino-types games - is set for vote by Parliament's plenum in the coming days, with the cash-strapped Greek state interested in boosting public revenues, employment and placing more legal obstacles in front of illegal gambling and bookmaking.
A study by Deloitte accompanies the draft bill, with the former claiming monetary benefits of one billion euros for state coffers over the next four years if the bill's provisions are implemented.
At present, previously state-run OPAP, the company which holds the exclusive rights to organize and manage numerical lotteries and sports betting games in Greece, pays the state roughly 780 million euros a year for the concession rights.
On its part, OPAP - officially known as the Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A. - submitted what it said were named and anonymous charges over the past four weeks regarding the existence of illegal gambling dens in the country.
The Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP), on its part, submitted a report listing more than 18,000 violations of gaming laws between 2005 and 2015, and the seizure of more than five million euros in illicit proceeds.
OPAP executive chairman and CEO Kamil Ziegler, who spoke during the committee debate on the draft bill, said the Greek state loses between 300 and 500 million euros annually from illegal gambling schemes.
During debate at the committee level, MPs heard that for every 100 euros collected by a legal video lottery terminal (VLT) operated by OPAP, 52 euros of the sum - directly or indirectly - lands in the state's treasury.
