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 The Greek government has announced controversial plans to amend proposed gambling legislation. The initial bill, which looked to generate 700 million Euros worth of income for the nation, was met with opposition from Leaders of the ruling Socialist Party who said that the measure could turn Greece into a giant casino and that liberalized gaming would be abused by both players and operators alike. Greece is still in the midst of an economic crisis so even members of the Socialist Party are pushing for some form of gambling though they insist that certain restrictions will have to be made. Finance Minister, George Papaconstantinou, revealed that he would be retracting the law for further consideration but would not comment further on the matter.
The bill has already undergone several changes over the past few months. Last month the government voted in favor of a 30% GPT instead of the 6% turnover levy original proposed and dropped plans for instituting a "black period" between when legislation passes and when operators can start offering their services.
As of this moment OPAP has a monopoly on the gambling industry in Greece when new laws are adopted it will be forced to share the Greek market with other European Union companies and it will be forced to comply with European Commission laws regarding free e commerce among member nations.
It is unclear what changes the Socialist Party feels need to be made in order for a vote to be made on the matter but hopefully the issue will be settled in the coming months.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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