Greek gambling regulator warns of black market threat

Dimitris Dzanatos of the Hellenic Gaming Commission says illegal operators are causing financial losses.

Greece.- Dimitris Dzanatos, president of the Hellenic Gaming Commission, has warned that unlicensed gambling operations are having a serious impact on the Greek gambling market. at the 27th Economist Conference on Online Gaming: Prospects, Challenges and Responsibility, Dzanatos said such offerings were causing “great financial loss and unfair competition”.

He emphasised that players were betting “very large sums” with illegal operators and has called for the government and other bodies to take a “more organised” collaborative response. “Government, independent authorities and providers must support collaborative actions for safe play and to deal with problems and social impacts.”

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In August, the Hellenic Gaming Commission opened a consultation on a range of proposed new player protection measures, which require approval from Greece’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. They include the creation of a national self-exclusion register.

The regulator would maintain the register, which would allow players to choose a period of between one week and ten months to self-exclude from gambling.

The player would then need to make a request to lift the exclusion, which would be possible at any time after the period chosen has elapsed. The register would include data on the length of the exclusion and the licensee that received the request.

Other proposals in the consultation included the creation of player cards that would allow players to gamble at casinos with a link to online player accounts. Meanwhile, licensees will have an obligation to train their staff on gambling regulations via specialised education and training programmes. A dedicated training manager would need to be able to provide details on training to the regulator on request.