The two decisions delivered by the Greek Council of State n. 3167/2014 an 3168/2014, with regards to the applications for annulation of the tacit denial of the Greek State to provide two sport betting providers with licenses for the provision of offline and online betting services following the fact that they were duly licensed for the provision of the said services in other EU member States came as no surprise to the already OPAP –set Greek gaming landscape. Although no amendments took place to the related to the licensing procedure articles of the Greek Gaming Law, an OPAP quasi monopoly has been judicially established.
Both rulings provide inter alia that all necessary measures for the protection of the consumers have been taken through the legislation adopted since 2011 in Greece. Moreover, the institution and the role of a three member committee (its members being chosen according to a procedure set by the Greek Gaming Commission) providing a prudential control of related OPAP decisions seem to have played a major role to the adoption of the said Greek Council of State decisions.
Although, there still might be reactions, we assume hence that solid arguments exist for the Greek State’s and OPAP’s stance.
Edited by Crystallia Iatridou