draft technical regulations and Information Society Services which gambling activities falls under, to ensure transparency between Member States amongst other reasons.
The draft was sent by Greece to the European Commission requesting to evoke the ‘emergency procedure’ or fast-track mechanism to bypass the mandatory three-month ‘standstill’ period imposed by the Commission on all technical regulations. The grounds for invoking this procedure were that “Greek Authorities have ascertained that (a) given the level of internet penetration in Greece and (b) following the government’s announcement of its intention to regulate the gaming market, an increased number of professionals from the gaming sector began operating in Greece which leads to public order problems and it is vital for the Greek government to put the relevant legal framework in place as soon as possible.” The EC was not convinced by this argument and duly rejected the request – the real reason for wanting to rush this legislation is the urgent need to raise revenues.
Although the draft’s three-month ‘standstill’ period expired July 8, it has recently been extended by one month (until August 8) as a result of receiving a ‘detailed opinion’ by the Commission itself and Malta. Both have challenged the draft claiming that some proposals are incompatible with EU law and have requested that the Greek authorities
GReece souGht to evoke a fast-
tRack emeRGency Bypass to speed its leGisation
thRouGh the ec - which duly
Rejected the Request.
amendment those matters before implementing the law. Now Greek lawmakers face a stark choice between carrying on without making the necessary amendments and face possible infringement proceedings at EU level and challenges at national courts or make the crucial changes which will without a doubt delay the regulation of the market.
Objections to the draft found in the ‘detailed opinion’ centre on restrictions that financial transactions and guarantees must take place within Greek banks and for companies involved in gambling to be located in Greece. Further, even the requirement that consumers must obtain a special player ID card before playing for real money on licensed sites may be contrary to EU law.
On 4 August, the Greek parliament approved the online gambling legislation with some key amendments, including scrapping the limits on the number of licences, in an effort to bring the draft in line with EU law before the expiry of the ‘standstill period’ on 8 August.
The following are the main points of the proposed legal framework:
• The stated purpose is to regulate the gambling market by protecting the general interests of the public and combating addiction, particularly among the Greek youth.
• Directing the betting activity to lawful an controllable service providers so that gradually betting and the criminal acts, such as fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and others are limited and at the end disappear.
• Ensuring and collecting revenue for the state, which for 2011 is estimated to amount to €500 million from the issuance of the relevant licences and €200 million from the duties of the games, collected on an annual basis. Although licences are only expected to be tendered sometime in 2012.
Further details of the draft recently approved by the Greek parliament on 4 August:
• Establishment of a new regulatory body to
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