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 The Greece government has been working out the kinks in its online gambling bill. Getting the balance just right has not been easy because not only does the bill need to match the requirements set by the European Commission but it needs to meet the country's financial needs and political compulsions. Over the last few weeks the Greek government has made several concessions including giving up the tax on turnover and now it has made another major concession by removing the 'black period' provision in its latest draft of its online gambling bill.
A black period is basically the time between when the law is enacted and when the licenses are issued. In the original proposal casinos would have to cease offering online gambling in Greece during the black period or be disqualified from ever getting a license. This provision of course drew a lot of opposition from members of the online gambling industry who have a heavy stake in the Greek market. While they will no longer have to worry about the a black out period many may still be forced out of the Greek as the bill still requires that online gambling sites operating in Greece have a Greek corporate presence, player ID cards and servers located within Greece.
The significant delay in getting the bill passed into law is said to causing some serious financial damage to the Greek economy. OPAP which currently monopolizes the Greek gambling has seen a drop in revenues over the past few years and the longer the government waits the less money they will be able to collect in tax revenues this year.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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