Hellenic Gaming Commission Takes Illegal Gaming Seriously

Greece’s independent administrative authority that regulates, supervises, and audits games of chance carried out in the country, the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC/EEEC in Greek), has used the voice of president Dimitris Dzanatos to issue a series of black market warnings. 

Dzanatos verbalized the warnings during the most recent Economist Conference on the topic of “Online Gaming: Prospects, Challenges and Responsibility,” which also marked the conference’s 27th edition. 

“Very Large Sums” Played via Illegal Operators

President Dzanatos explained that very large amounts of money are currently being played with operators outside the law, something that has led to a significant financial loss while creating unfair competition with legal gaming and betting suppliers. 

According to an HGC statement, Dzanatos also explained that it is necessary to obtain a better-organized response that is also more “methodical” to the current black market problems and all the risks associated with it in regard to the regulated gambling sector.

The authority’s president proposed that government representatives, independent authorities, as well as gaming service providers show their support for “collaborative actions for safe play and dealing with problems and social impacts.”

The HGC has been trying to pursue this objective for a while now, including via the Gaming Regulators European Forum where the Greek gambling authority formed ties with similar gambling authorities in other European countries with the purpose of countering the black market. 

Incredible Growth for the Greek Online Gambling Market 

So far, Dzanatos explained that Greece’s online gambling market “more than doubled” in the past five years between 2019 and 2023, from €437 million ($463 million) to €889 million ($942 million).

In May, the government voted to increase the €2 ($2.14) cap on online wagers while also boosting the value of maximum slots Jackpots. The changes brought by the Ministry of Finance followed the Year-1 review of the relaunched gambling market in the country. 

At the moment, Greece counts 15 active holders of gambling and gaming licenses including a manufacturer A1 suitability license issued to Spinomenal at the head of the year. The country embraced the latest industry framework in 2021.

In August, the commission started a series of talks regarding a potential introduction of a self-exclusion register, along with individual player cards, and studio spaces dedicated to live casino dealers.