EGBA and RGA Register Complaint Over Greek Law

This week a complaint was filed by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) along with the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) with the European Commission. They are objecting to a new Greek online gambling law saying it is too protectionist and contrary to EU law.

The new law will force companies to set up a permanent office in Greece and to use Greek banks for any financial transactions. In their submission the EGBA and RGA say that this will place unnecessary and unjustified economic burdens on any new operators.

These two groups together represent all of Europe's largest online gambling companies. The submission points out that these new measures were also criticised by the European Commission when the law was drafted last June.
The new law will require operators to pay taxes on revenues earned from Greece-based customers retroactively from January 1, 2025 until new licenses have been awarded. This will place a major financial burden on operators and is one of the points highlighted in the submission.

The EGBA and RGA also pointed out that the Greek government is allowing its monopoly offline gambling operator (OPAP) to continue running without paying any taxes until 2030. This effectively means that there is no competition in Greece where online operators must pay 30% in taxes.
For unknown reasons the law also imposes a higher age limit for online gambling than it does for offline gambling.

The European Union Markets Commissioner, Michael Barnier, recently told the European Parliament that he would be assessing the compliance of member state gambling legislation with EU law. Now all gambling groups are eagerly anticipating his findings and waiting to see if any action will be taken against Greece.

Operators are hoping that the EGBA and RGA's complaint will be upheld and they will be able to continue operating in Greece without being penalised