Crisis Hits Gambling

According to the report of the Gaming Oversight and Control Commission tendered yesterday in parliament the revenue from legitimate gambling (OPAP, ODIE, state lottery, and casinos) in 2013 stood at 5.49 billion euros, as against 8.73 billion in 2009. The proceeds, sans distributed winnings fell in 2013 to 1.55 billion euros, as against 2.539 billion euros in 2009 (-38.7%).

Even though, the economic crisis managed a significant blow to the Greek gaming market, it still remains one of the biggest in the EU, still 9th among the 28.

Bearing this in mind, the Commission will undertake within the next months additional initiatives to better monitor the market, which will include among others:
•    Formulation of regulations and control of OPAP run games.
•    Regulation of video lottery terminals (VLTs) through new legislation and amendment of existing regulations.
•    The establishment of an IT control and oversight system to which all licensed operators will be obligatorily hooked up