Online Gambling Licenses in Greece to Cost €5 Million

Online gambling operators in Greece will now have to cough up a fair bit of cash to get their hands on a sports betting and gaming license. The licensing fee has been revised under the new regulations, which were implemented earlier this week.

Operators looking to make the most of the Greek market have been in waiting for quite some time. They have been operating under ‘transitional’ permits for the past seven years or so, eagerly waiting for the opportunity to apply for permanent licenses. However, the latest regulations may not be what they had in mind.

The regulations, which were published by the Greek Ministry of Finance, state that online sports betting licenses will now cost around €4 million. However, if operators intended to provide additional online gaming services, they will need to put in an extra €1 million.

Other than that, companies will have to deposit €500,000 along with their applications and also prove that they possess a gambling license in another country within the EU (European Union).

The licenses will be valid for a period of 5 years. Operators will have to renew their licenses at least 12 months/1 year prior to the actual expiry date.

Blacklisted Firms Ineligible for Fresh Licenses

The Ministry of Finance also made it clear that companies blacklisted in the last year or so will not be eligible to apply for a fresh license. This included GVC Holdings, which revealed in early 2018 that it was operating a subsidiary under an interim license.

The subsidiary firm had been issued a tax audit assessment of €186.8m. The audit applied to activities conducted from the year 2010 to 2011. This was the same period in which the subsidiary firm was operated by Sportingbet before being taken over in 2013 by GVC.

The Ministry of Finance has decided to avoid taxing winnings under €100. However, winnings over €100 and below €500 will be taxed at the rate of 15%. For winnings over the €500 mark, the tax rate will be set at 20%.

The above-mentioned tax system is a variable tax system introduced as part of the recently updated regulations. The tax system will be applied to all operators functioning under the new regulations.

Consultation Pending

But, the new regulations still haven’t undergone consultation, which is necessary to determine their outcome. The consultation’s objective is to bring out the opinions held by stakeholders, such as Ministries, clubs, gambling firms, legal entities, and public services, etc.

The consultation will be held until the 10^th of October.