By L. Kalamara
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The Greek government is eyeing a liberalization of the gaming sector in the country, with the intent of allowing the establishment of casinos in well-known tourism destinations in the country, such as Crete, Santorini and Mykonos.
No less than three new gaming licenses for the specific islands are included in a draft bill tabled in Parliament, while another six casinos already in operation will be allowed to relocate. The latter is particularly significant for the greater Athens area's sole casino, a Hyatt Regency-run casino (Mont Parnes) atop Mt. Parnitha. If ratified, the bill would also allow the relocation of casinos in Thessaloniki, Loutraki, Rio (outside the western port city of Patras), Alexandroupolis, in the extreme northeast, and Florina, close to the border with Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM).
A report accompanying the draft legislation states that the goal is to better connect the gaming sector with tourism, to reduce the state's share in licensed casinos' gross profits, to impose a unified coefficient for the state's stake in such concessions and to promote the "casino resort" model, one linked to shopping and hotels.
Under the draft bill, the semi-autonomous Hellenic Gaming Commission is given greater jurisdiction and acquires a decisive role in licensing and regulating casinos in the country.
