Greece finally unveils new online gambling licensing plans

Greece’s online gambling market is finally rolling out its new licensing regime, but applicants are likely to feel a little sticker-shock.

On Friday, Greece’s Ministry of Finance unveiled its long-delayed plans to revamp its online gambling market, allowing the 24 operators who have been operating on ‘transitional’ permits since 2011 the opportunity to apply for new licenses. But the fine print of the new licensing plan will likely disappoint many of these operators.

For starters, the new licenses will cost €4m for operators who only wish to offer sports wagering online, while the right to offer other online gambling options will cost an additional €1m. Licenses will be valid for five years, and operators must apply for renewal at least one year in advance of the license expiration, with renewal fees equal to the original license fee.

Applicants must submit a deposit of €500k and demonstrate that they hold a license to operate online in another European Union market, along with records of their previous three years of financial performance.