Greece has issued a Blacklist‏

nikantw

Closed Account
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Location
EU
Our sorry excuse for a government, in another violation of our personal rights, common sense and fair business, has issued a Blacklist of online gaming providers, asking from the Bank of Greece to block any money transactions and from ISP to block access. :mad:

The list has almost if not all the accredited casinos in it. :eek:
You all get the picture, I don't know if I can or should post the 402 names of the list.
 
This seems to be the end of online gambling for Greek players and that sucks. The list was leaked yesterday, it was about to release today (31/07).

The list includes all major international sites that didn't passed out of the market (like William Hill, Ladbrokes, Betfair) from Greece. Names like Bwin, Unibet, Betvictor, Betsson, Betclic, Interwetten, Stan James, Pinnaclesports, Offsidebet and 10bet are included in the list. Bet365 is already changed their domain to bet365.gr for greek customers, and of course is not included in the list.

There have been a lot of mistakes, since those 'experts' who deal with this list, are out of knowledge. For example: They banned pokerstarsblog instead pokerstars.eu...

Rumors says that everyone in the IAC have go on holiday now and will return on August 19. If this is the case, do not expect changes and corrections to the list until then (while in Greece, this season as a known holiday and nothing works until the end of August).

No matter when the list will officially be published, it IS a hard hit and failure from the Goverment to apply the standards for online gaming. Of course, the victim is the player...

The list below:
1 http://gr.10bet.com/
2 http://www.32red.com/
3 http://www.5dimes.eu/
4 http://www.7sultans.eu/
5 http://770.com/
6 http://www.777.com/play-blackjack.html
7 http://www.888sport.com/bet
8 http://www.aladdinsgoldcasino.com/
9 http://www.alljackpotscasino.com
10 http://www.allslotscasino.com/aq/aff/home.html#_
11 https://www.bwin.com/default.aspx
12 https://www.bet3000.com/
13 https://www.betsson.com/start/el/
14 https://el.betclic.com/
15 http://www.betvictor.com/sports/en
16 http://www.betus.com.pa/
17 https://www3.bet90.com/en/
18 https://www.betsafe.com
19 http://blackdiamondcasino.net/
20 http://box24casino.com/
21 http://www.blackjackballroom.eu/
22 http://www.canbet.com/
23 https://www.comeon.com/
24 http://www.casino848.com/
25 https://www.casinoeuro.com/el/
26 http://www.colosseumcasino.com/
27 http://www.crazyvegas.com/
28 http://www.cabaretclub.com/
29 http://www.casinolavida.com
30 https://www.cherrycasino.com/
31 http://www.carbonpoker.ag/
32 http://www.dafabet.com/gr
33 http://www.dublinbet.com/
34 http://www.dashcasino.com/
35 http://www.goalbet.com/
36 https://sports.gamebookers.com/
37 http://www.guruplay.com/
38 http://www.grandmondial.eu/
39 http://www.goldenreefcasino.com/
40 https://www.interwetten.com/el/Default.aspx
41 http://www.intertops.eu
42 http://www.iasbet.com/
43 https://www.incasino.gr/
44 http://www.jackpotcity.com/
45 http://www.kingsolomons.com/greek/
46 http://www.livecasinodirect.com/
47 http://www.luckylivecasino.com/48 http://www.smartlivegaming.com/welcome.html
49 http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com/
50 http://www.mummysgold.com/
51 http://www.maplecasino.ca/
52 http://www.manhattanslots.com/
53 http://www.nordicbet.com/
54 http://www.nostalgiacasino.com/
55 http://www.offsidebet.com/
56 http://www.omnicasino.com/
57 http://www.pmu.fr/
58 https://www.partybets.com/
59 http://www.pinnaclesports.com/
60 https://www.paf.com/
61 http://www.purevegascasino.com/
62 http://www.platinumplay.eu/
63 http://www.phoeniciancasino.eu/
64 http://gr.partypoker.com/
65 http://el.pacificpoker.com/el/
66 http://www.poker848.com/
67 http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/
68 http://www.quatrocasino.com/
69 http://www.redflushcasino.eu/
70 http://www.rubyfortune.com/en/
71 http://www.rivernilecasino.net/index.asp
72 http://www.roxypalace.com/
73 http://www.riverbellecasino.com/
74 http://www.royalvegascasino.com/
75 http://www.slotsoasis.com/
76 http://www.uwin.com/
77 http://www.stanjames.com/
78 http://www.sportsinteraction.com/
79 http://www.sunvegascasino.com/
80 http://www.spinpalace.com/greek/
81 http://spartanslots.com/
82 http://www.slotsjungle.com/
83 https://www.stoiximan.com/
84 http://tropicacasino.com/
85 http://thegreek.com/
86 http://www.triobet.com/
87 http://gr.unibet.com/
88 http://vistabet.com/
89 https://www.vsjack.com/
90 http://www.villento.com/
91 http://www.vegascountrycasino.com/
92 http://www.windowscasino.com/greek/
93 http://www.wildjackcasino.com/#_
94 http://www.youwin.com/en
95 http://www.yukongoldcasino.eu/
96 http://www.goldenrivieracasino.com/index.asp
97 http://www.vegasslotcasino.com/98 http://www.gowildcasino.com/en/
99 http://www.richreels.com/
100 https://www.bet-at.eu/
101 http://greek.eucasino.com/
102 http://www.highnooncasino.com/
103 http://www.winpalace.com/
104 http://www.goldentigercasino.com/
105 http://www.luckyredcasino.com/
106 http://www.ukcasino-club.co.uk/
107 http://www.virgingames.com/
108 http://www.777dragoncasino.com/
109 http://www.casino-mate.com/
110 http://www.captaincookscasino.eu/
111 http://www.casinoaction.com/
112 http://www.casino-classic.eu/
113 http://www.gamingclub.com/
114 http://www.scasino.com/en/index.html
115 http://www.vegaspalmscasino.com/
116 http://www.zodiaccasino.com/
117 http://www.casinoking.com/
118 http://www.challengecasino.com/
119 http://www.clubeurocasino.com/
120 http://www.crowneurope.com/en/
121 http://www.casinoshare.eu/
122 http://www.mansioncasino.com/
123 http://www.winner.com/
124 http://www.casinolasvegas.com/en/index.html
125 http://www.casino.com/gr/
126 http://www.cityclubcasino.com/
127 http://www.goldenpalace.com/
128 http://www.citytowercasino.com/
129 http://www.firstwebcasino.com/#_
130 http://www.magicboxcasino.com/
131 http://www.slotsville.com/index.html
132 http://www.winwardcasino.ag/
133 https://www.heavencasino.com/
134 http://www.davincisgold.com/
135 http://www.grandhotelcasino.com/
136 https://www.maria.com/en
137 http://www.rockbet.com/
138 http://www.slotland.com/
139 http://www.rushmoreonline.com/
140 http://cherryredcasino.com/
141 http://www.24ktgoldcasino.com/
142 http://www.flamingoclub.com/
143 http://www.aztecrichescasino.eu/
144 http://www.casinosplendido.com/
145 http://www.hollywoodpoker.com/
146 http://www.everestcasino.com/en
147 http://www.grandonline.com/148 http://www.lasvegasusa.eu/casino/
149 http://www.luckyemperorcasino.com/
150 http://www.musichallcasino.eu/
151 http://www.onlinecasinocentral.com/
152 http://www.slotsplus.eu/
153 http://www.slotsvillage.ag/
154 http://www.strikeitluckycasino.com/
155 http://www.sunpalacecasino.eu/
156 http://www.vegas7casino.com/
157 http://www.vegascasinoonline.eu/
158 http://www.virtualcitycasino.eu/
159 http://www.winadaycasino.com/
160 http://www.casinolux.com/
161 http://www.loosecannonholdem.com/
162 http://www.pokerheaven.com/
163 http://www.pokertime.eu/
164 http://www.sunpoker.com/
165 http://www.coolhandpoker.com/
166 http://www.pkr.com/en/
167 http://www.pokerrewards.com/
168 http://www.betonline.ag/
169 http://www.bingohall.ag/
170 https://secure.cyberbingo.com/
171 https://secure.bingosky.com/
172 http://www.vicsbingo.ag/
173 http://www.winkbingo.com/
174 http://www.melinabingo.com/
175 http://www.gigglebingo.ca/
176 http://www.bingomania.com/
177 http://www.bingofabulous.com/
178 https://secure.bingofest.com/
179 http://www.foxybingo.com/
180 http://www.poshbingo.co.uk/
181 http://www.getmintedbingo.com/
182 http://www.bingocabin.com/
183 http://www.bingoliner.com/
184 http://www.cheekybingo.com/
185 http://www.jetbingo.com/
186 http://www.mainstreetbingo.com/
187 http://www.bingoballroom.com/
188 http://www.bingocafe.com/
189 http://www.mfortune.co.uk/
190 http://el.hopa.com/
191 http://www.cashmillbingo.com/
192 http://grandduke.com/
193 http://www.kingneptunescasino.eu/
194 http://www.121casino.com/
195 http://www.138sungame.com/en-gb
196 https://www.1bet.com/EN/index.html
197 http://www.1king.com/EN/casino.html198 http://www.21grandcasino.com/
199 http://www.21dukes.com/
200 http://www.3dice.com/index.php
201 http://www.50starscasino.com/english/eur/index.html
202 http://www.7red.com/
203 http://www.7reels.com/
204 http://www.7regal.com/
205 http://www.7spins.com/
206 http://www.99slotmachines.com/index.asp
207 http://acelivecasino.com/
208 http://www.adamevecasino.com/
209 http://www.allstarslots.com/
210 http://games.onlinecasino.ac/
211 http://www.atlantisgoldcasino.com/
212 http://www.begado.eu/
213 http://www.betbellavegas.com
214 http://betcave.com/
215 http://www.betcris.com/
216 http://betguardian.me/
217 http://www.betphoenixcasino.com/
218 http://betspace.com/
219 http://www.bulldog777.com/
220 http://www.buzzluck.com/
221 http://www.carnivalcasino.com/
222 http://www.casinodelrio.com/
223 http://www.betcasinograndbay.com/en/Index.html
224 http://www.casinokingdom.eu/
225 http://casinomoonbeach.com/
226 http://www.casinomoons.com/
227 http://www.casinolust.com/
228 http://www.casino-on-net.com/
229 http://www.casinoplex.com/
230 http://www.casinoredkings.com/
231 http://www.casinoroyalclub.com/
232 http://casino-russia.com/
233 http://www.casinotitan.im/
234 http://www.casinouk.com/
235 http://www.casinoluck.com/
236 https://www.casinoluckywin.com/
237 http://www.casinoroom.com/
238 http://www.casinoval.com/
239 http://www.castlecasino.com/
240 http://www.celticcasino.com/
241 http://www.cherrygoldcasino.com/uk/
242 http://www.cinemacasino.com/
243 http://www.circuscasino.com/
244 http://www.cirruscasino.net/
245 http://www.classycoin.me/
246 http://www.clubdicecasino.com/
247 http://www.clubgoldcasino.com/248 http://www.clubplayercasino.com/
249 http://www.clubsacasino.com/
250 http://www.club777.com/
251 http://www.coolcat-casino.com/
252 https://www.cosmikcasino.com/?lang=en
253 http://www.crazyluckcasino.com/
254 http://www.cscasino.com
255 http://www.dcasinolive.com/
256 http://www.desertnightscasino.im/
257 https://www.deuceclub.com/?lang=en
258 https://www.devilfish.com/
259 http://dicelandcasino.com/
260 http://www.dirty2.com/
261 http://www.domgame.com/
262 http://www.duel5.com/en-casino
263 http://www.europalace.com/
264 http://www.fairwaycasino.com/
265 http://www.freespincasino.eu/
266 https://futuriti.com/gr
267 http://www.galacasino.com/
268 http://www.gentingcasino.com/
269 https://www.globallivecasino.com/
270 http://gofishcasino.com/
271 http://www.goldencherry.com/
272 http://www.goldenlounge.com/
273 https://www.goldbet.com/it/sport/
274 http://www.gr88.com/
275 http://www.grandeaglecasino.com/en/index.html
276 http://www.grandparker.me/
277 http://www.grandreefcasino.com/
278 http://www.grandevegascasino.com/
279 https://www.harrycasino.com/en/
280 http://www.havanacasino.com/
281 http://www.imperialcasino.com/
282 http://www.inetbet.com/
283 https://www.intragame.com/
284 http://www.casinoirishluck.com/
285 http://www.jackpotcapital.eu/
286 http://www.jackpot247.com/
287 https://www.jetbull.com/
288 http://www.joylandcasino.com/
289 http://www.betjupiterclub.com/Index.html
290 http://justbet.cx/
291 http://el.karamba.com/
292 http://www.kerchingcasino.com/index.do
293 http://www.larivieracasino.com/
294 http://www.betlakepalace.com/Index.html
295 http://www.lesacasino.com/
296 http://www.libertyslots.eu/
297 http://betlm.eu/298 http://lionslots.com/
299 http://www.vernons.com/
300 http://lockcasino.eu/
301 http://www.locopanda.me/
302 http://www.lotusasiacasino.com/en-US/index.html
303 http://www.luckyacecasino.com/
304 http://www.luckyclub.eu/
305 http://www.luckycreek.com/en/index.html
306 http://luckytimecasino.com/
307 http://www.luxurycasino.com/
308 http://www.mandarinpalace.com/en-EU/index.html
309 http://www.megacasino.com/
310 http://www.scratchgames.com/
311 https://www.mrgreen.com/
312 http://www.nedplay.com/
313 http://www.noblecasino.com/
314 http://www.oddsmaker.ag/
315 http://www.okonlinecasino.com/el/
316 http://www.onbling.me/
317 http://www.palaceofchance.com/
318 http://www.palacevipcasino.com/english/usd/index.html
319 http://games.pampercasino.com/
320 http://www.partycasino.com/
321 http://www.partycitycasino.com/
322 http://www.planet7casino.com/
323 http://www.planetcasino.com/uk/
324 http://el.playmillion.com/
325 http://www.playersonly.ag/
326 http://www.playerspalacecasino.eu/
327 http://www.portomasolive.com/portal/portal/index.jsp
328 http://www.prestigecasino.com/
329 http://www.prismcasino.com/
330 https://www.quasargaming.com/
331 http://greek.queenvegas.com/
332 https://www.redbet.com/en/
333 http://www.reefclubcasino.com/
334 http://www.rialtocasino.com/
335 http://www.richcasino.com/
336 http://www.rivacasino.com/el/
337 http://www.betroadhousereels.com/Index.html
338 http://www.romecasino.com/
339 http://www.royalacecasino.com/
340 http://www.rubyroyal.com/
341 http://www.rubyslots.com/
342 https://www.sklots.com/
343 http://www.skykingscasino.com/
344 http://www.slotmadness.com/
345 http://www.slotmagix.com/
346 http://www.slotpowers.com/
347 http://www.slotastic.com/en/348 http://www.slotsjungle.im/
349 http://www.slotocash.im/
350 http://el.slotsandgames.com/
351 http://www.slotscapital.lv/
352 http://www.slotsofvegas.com/
353 https://spinlivecasino.com/
354 http://www.spintime.com/
355 https://spinusacasino.com/
356 http://www.stack99.com/
357 http://www.stargames.com/
358 http://www.supercasino.com/
359 http://www.supremeplay.com/
360 http://www.suprocasino.com/en-gb/
361 http://www.thebescasino.com/
362 http://www.totesport.com/Welcome/
363 http://www.treasureislandjackpots.com/
364 http://tropicalcashcasino.co/
365 http://www.vanguardscasino.com/
366 http://www.vegasred.com/
367 http://www.vegasskycasino.com/
368 http://www.vegasstripcasino.com/
369 http://www.venicegames.com/
370 http://www.verajohn.com/el
371 https://www.videoslots.com/
372 https://www.whiteknightcasino.com/
373 http://www.wildvegascasino.com/
374 http://www.win7casino.com/
375 http://www.winbig21.com/
376 http://www.wintingo.com/
377 http://www.wizbet.com/
378 http://www.wptcasino.com/
379 http://www.yachting-casino.com/
380 http://betting.stanjames.com/Blog
381 http://el.888.com/
382 http://el.888casino.com/
383 http://el.888poker.com/
384 http://gr.sportingbet.com/stoixima-kazino-games-poker-bonus
385 http://tatts.com/goldencasket
386 http://tatts.com/tattersalls
387 http://tatts.com/tattsbet
388 http://web.boylesports.com/UK/1/BingoHome#action=bingohome
389 http://www.888bingo.com/
390 http://www.888games.com/
391 http://www.888sport.com/
392 http://www.caesarsbingo.com/
393 http://www.caesarscasino.com/
394 http://www.fabulousbingo.co.uk/
395 http://www.salotteries.com.au/
396 http://www.stanjames.com/Landing.aspx
397 http://www.stanleybet.it/398 http://www.stanleybet.net/www/
399 http://www.sunbingo.co.uk/tv/movie/
400 http://www.vernons.com/home
401 https://tatts.com/nswlotteries
402 https://www.runnerz.nl/
 
nevermind... Neuro posted as I was typing.
 
Neuro do you have a link to that list please?

The list is not yet officially published by all means, but it was leaked from the official 'under construction' website of Gaming Commission of Greece ( http://www.gamingcommission.gov.gr/ )
They published the list on their official page for about an hour and later they deleted it completely. The website says 'under construction' now.

You can find some comments, rumors on various Greek blogs, example: http://www.betblog.gr/articles.aspx?aid=26545 , or google it : https://www.google.com/search?q=Blacklist+ΕΕΕΠ
 
Many thanks.

The Remote Gaming Association has been quick to react to the list - this was issued today, along with a copy of the black list:


RGA CHALLENGES GREEK THREAT TO INTERIM GAMBLING LICENSEES

The Remote Gambling Association has written to the Hellenic Gaming Commission to ask it to stop reviewing the licences of companies held by legitimate operators in Greece.

The trade association believes that the real reason for interviewing the operators who have been granted an interim online gambling licence is to prepare a blacklist. The RGA has argued that this is premature given that the Greek Government has not addressed the issues already raised by the European Commission in relation to its review of the gambling regulations.

The RGA thinks that the review is being undertaken with a view to creating a blacklist that will require:

1. Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") to block access to websites operated by these blacklisted gambling operators.

2. Payment and credit institutions operating in Greece (Payment Service Providers or "PSPs") to stop processing payments to and from blacklisted accounts held by gambling operators not licensed in Greece.

3. Sanctions against individual players and media owners that publicise online gambling sites on the blacklist.

The authority to draw up this blacklist is set out in draft regulations notified to the European Commission. The regulations (“Amendments to the regulatory framework regarding the games of chance market”) received a detailed opinion from both Malta and the European Commission which set out the reasons why the law was not compatible with European regulations. To date no amendments to the draft regulations have been passed by the Greek Government and therefore the concerns expressed in the detailed opinion have not been addressed.

The Hellenic Gaming Commission has drawn up a list of 402 websites to go onto a black list. The RGA believes that this is contrary to European Commission law and will open up the Greek authorities to legal challenge.

The RGA fears that the real reason for review of the licences and the creation of the blacklist is to provide the current offline monopoly, OPAP, with a de facto online betting and gaming monopoly. The RGA refutes the existence of a legal online gambling monopoly in favour of OPAP because the legal basis for the concession has not been demonstrated. Even if the concession does have a legal basis the awarding of it to OPAP has not been transparent or in accordance with European directives. The RGA believes that if OPAP were given a legal online monopoly, it would be a step back from the current situation where there is a licensing scheme in place and operating.

Clive Hawkswood, CEO of the RGA said: “There is no justification for the review of interim licences at this stage. All that the Hellenic Gaming Commission will achieve is the closure of legitimate and well regulated gambling companies. In all other jurisdictions that have sought to maintain online gambling monopolies a significant proportion of the population have chosen to bet on more attractive sites based in other jurisdictions. We have no doubt this will happen in Greece too.

It must be obvious that the Greek people, the Greek Government and the Greek licensed industry would all benefit from a competitive and successful domestic market. That is not even a possibility if interim licences are removed and OPAP is gifted an online monopoly.”
 
INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY
Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC)
Mavrocordatos and Acharnon square 17
10438 Athens.
Phone: 212-10-75110

PRESS RELEASE

LIST OF SITES PROVIDING GAMING AND BETTING SERVICES WITHOUT AUTHORISATION IN GREECE (BLACK LIST).

The independent administrative authority with the name Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC), which is the public body responsible for the control and supervision of gambling services in Greece, has completed the compilation of the list (black list) sites, of whom provided non-legally, i.e. without the intended license, gaming and betting services.

This list was transmitted to 211 Internet service providers (ISPs) and credit institutions, through the Bank of Greece, in order to move forward on their own actions, as provided for in the relevant provisions.

Also, the list was transmitted to the competent prosecuting Authorities and criminal (Misdemeanors Athens Prosecutor, Financial and E-crime Prosecution Department of financial police) in connection with their own powers, since the supply of gambling without a license is a serious criminal offence referred to in article 52 of law No. 4002/2011 (s 180).

The list (black list), contains 401 sites, which were found by the HGC to offer, without permission, to the public in Greece, gambling and betting services, through checks carried out two different days at different times. Each site is checked from two different places.
The list (black list), is the first version. The list is dynamic, which means that it will be enriched by ongoing investigations.

Athens, 31 July 2013
From the Press Office of HGC
 
I suppose the actions of a bankrupt nation would be behind this - money flowing out of Greece, and they want to keep it 'in house' so to speak. This sounds drastic, but in any other country, including the UK, the banks overnight could ban gaming transactions without any government input - all it needs is one skint punter to claim 'irresponsible lending' and a County Court judge to agree, and you could wake up next day with UKcash and other voucher-based payments your only option. We tread a very fine line too.........
 
I suppose the actions of a bankrupt nation would be behind this - money flowing out of Greece, and they want to keep it 'in house' so to speak. ....

You are forgetting 2 things.

a) How high corruption is in Greece.
b) Gambling is now monopolized by a private company owned by non Greek investors.

So no money "stay in". In fact up to this day there isn't the slightest check for the billions that "left" the country past 3 years. No taxes paid, no nothing.
 
And from a small research I did yesterday, online casinos are not VPN friendly.

So if ISP's do block access, there is no way around it.

Maybe summer vacations in UK?! :D
Until the elections in October that is. :rolleyes:

The casinos intending to stay in Greece will find a way, and others will probably ban players from Greece in any case, rendering a workaround irrelevant.

The complication is that this is going to be challenged at EU level, and if the EU rules the Greek action illegal, then casinos can freely work around the restrictions whilst staying within EU laws. They could even sue the Greek government for damages if the EU overturns these measures, although it may not be worth it.

The problem for players is that this will remove the good casinos from the market, leaving the field open for the rogues who will ignore the law, and do their best to circumvent ISP and banking blocks. The US banks have struggled to prevent customers from gambling, and the Greek banks are unlikely to make a better job of it. With Greece in the EU, players could find that all they need do is exercise their right of free movement within the EU and set up a bank account in another EU country that will not block their transactions. They will only need an address in that country, even a bed and breakfast, and then set up mail forwarding. If casinos want Greek customers, they will be understanding and cooperative with such a setup.
 
There are other complications here too:

1) The Greek licensing already issued to companies like Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfair. They've all been asked to resubmit documentation for a hearing, and there is speculation that they may be allowed to retain licensing (the reasoning is that they could sue the hell out of the Greek government if their licensing was unilaterally removed to favour OPAP.)

2) Will Hill and Betfair have applied to operate OPAP, clearly to highlight the very questionable manner in which this whole affair is being handled, and to provide ammunition for the European Commission on the exclusive elements in the deal.

3) The EC has already warned the Greek government that it retains the right to instigate a European Court of Justice action despite the expiry of the recent standstill period.

It looks like a real bugger's muddle....
 
Missed the target somewhat if you can still log in and play.

With the state of the economy in Greece a block may have been put in place while the government bets the citizens monies and taxes on red in roulette, cross your fingers for an unbelievable good run of 1,000 million times stake left by a waiter serving for a government in a country I believe maybe called Germany.
 
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With the state of the economy in Greece a block may have been put in place while the government bets the citizens monies and taxes on red in roulette, cross your fingers for an unbelievable good run of 1,000 million times stake left by a waiter serving for a government in a country I believe maybe called Germany.

I do cross my fingers, for a new government that will serve the people of Greece and Europe.
 
Missed the target somewhat if you can still log in and play.

Everything that starts with 32red... is blocked. you can understand why. ISP's don't want to do it but don't have a choice at the moment.

I hear that a new EU gambling legislation is coming in a year or so.
Elections too.
Hopefully, this will soon be just a bad dream....
 
any other casinos being blocked in Greece? i'm not from there but of course, i do want to know what's happening as it may affect with the online casinos here in UK.

Everything online is or will be blocked.

The official "reasoning" behind this is:

"Online betting is forbidden because OPAP SA has paid (i.e. peanuts) for the offline sports betting rights and even though OPAP SA doesn't have the online rights, we don't want competition reducing OPAP's profits.
Casino games are extremely addictive, so for public safety reasons we don't want people, especially underage, to have unlimited access from the comfort of their homes. So we forbid them (i.e. OPAP doesn't have the rights of casino games, but has some VLT''s and a few other lotteries, some with drawings every 5 min. So with RTP of 65% and 24/7 advertisement on all media, we would really love it if all Greeks lose all their money very very fast on OPAP!!)
But we promise to grand license for online poker, sometime in the future (i.e. probably only one for OPAP)"

You can find this here:

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Everything online is or will be blocked.

The official "reasoning" behind this is:

"Online betting is forbidden because OPAP SA has paid (i.e. peanuts) for the offline sports betting rights and even though OPAP SA doesn't have the online rights, we don't want competition reducing OPAP's profits.
Casino games are extremely addictive, so for public safety reasons we don't want people, especially underage, to have unlimited access from the comfort of their homes. So we forbid them (i.e. OPAP doesn't have the rights of casino games, but has some VLT''s and a few other lotteries, some with drawings every 5 min. So with RTP of 65% and 24/7 advertisement on all media, we would really love it if all Greeks lose all their money very very fast on OPAP!!)
But we promise to grand license for online poker, sometime in the future (i.e. probably only one for OPAP)"

You can find this here:

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

That's the bit that will get them into trouble with the EU, it's blatant protectionism of one company by the exclusion by law of competition.

Their public safety reasoning might fare better, but it would have to be applied across the board to ALL operators, including OPAP.

Even more interesting is one of their other objections, namely that it's games that use an RNG that are the problem, implying that so called "rigged" games might be considered OK. It could be a fudge to justify allowing poker, but the cards themselves are still drawn by an RNG. Poker and lotteries can be just as addictive, so they would have to ban ALL gambling done from home, and insist that ALL gambling takes place at physical venues, which will dent the potential profits of OPAP.

Determined operators, mostly the rogues, will circumvent the blocks, maybe even telling player to go ahead and use VPNs to get around them. Money will still flow out of Greece, but is less likely to flow back as rogue casinos tend to rip off players who win.

If there was genuine concern for the risk to the public, the law would insist on a high RTP and strict limits on maximum stakes and daily losses for licensed operators. They could even levy a tax as the UK have decided to do.

This is probably the end of Microgaming for Greek players though, as they will not allow operators to break specific laws in any given country. We have seen this before when Microgaming arbitrarily shut Spanish players out of the network due to new Spanish laws, catching operators off guard and with a mess to clear up.

We just need a big operator to take Greece to the EU courts, and we may find a relaxation of the rules to fit in with EU single market rules. A big operator probably has more money to spend on lawyers than the Greek government;)
 
This is probably the end of Microgaming for Greek players though, as they will not allow operators to break specific laws in any given country. We have seen this before when Microgaming arbitrarily shut Spanish players out of the network due to new Spanish laws, catching operators off guard and with a mess to clear up.

We just need a big operator to take Greece to the EU courts, and we may find a relaxation of the rules to fit in with EU single market rules.

I believe they do take legal action, RGA and a few big operators.
It would be premature for MG to shut us down. After all, the legislation itself is "illegal" according to EU law.
 
I believe they do take legal action, RGA and a few big operators.
It would be premature for MG to shut us down. After all, the legislation itself is "illegal" according to EU law.

This is the funniest thread I've ever read here, now don't get me wrong, I'm all for greater, even TOTAL European integration - at least, I was, until the dimwits in Brussels fell for the American line that it was a "fantastic" idea to try and integrate the former Communist-Bloc states into the family.
Of course, now the whole thing is a mess and we face complete economic stagnation - which is what the US Government wanted all along, of course.
But anyway, I digress.....
What really cracks me up is that Greece seemingly cannot read the writing on the wall, sprayed in two metre high letters which says "Dump the EU and go back to the Drachma".
Instead, they insist on electing a sucession of mealy-mouthed idiots who delude themselves into thinking the situation can be "rectified".
The EU is finished. Uncle Scam's grand plot has, unfortunately for Western Europe, worked.
Time to check out, and rediscover your national identities again.

Here endeth the lesson.
 

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