Greek report recommends gambling expansion

A report commissioned by the finance ministry of the European country concluded that new casinos should open in Greece.

Greece.- The finance ministry of Greece commissioned a report of the gambling industry, which revealed that the country could host new casinos, as well as it should lessen the tax burden on table games and reevaluate gambling taxes.

Mykonos, Santorini and Crete could be host-cities of the casinos, as the analysis from Gambling Compliance reported. The new information establishes that setting a base for gambling taxes would be beneficial for the industry. Last month, the finance ministry asked Grant Thornton, a consulting firm, to analyse the casino market and come up with a proposal to reinvent the industry in Greece, which currently features nine licensees.

Back in January, Greek independent authority Commission for Supervision and Regulation of Gaming introduced a gaming project to grant further licenses to operate authorised slot machines. However, the Athens Municipality and several casino groups filed a formal motion to stop the licensing process. The Greek independent authority proposal was to approve casino licenses to add the operation of 35,000 video lottery terminals countrywide.

Moreover, June saw the announcement of a “Receipt Lottery” designed to defeat tax evasion and encourage costumers to ask for the receipts. The ministry has destined approximately US$13.4 million to the project, which is set to reward 50 consumers every day who use their debit or credit cards to purchase the lottery ticket at stores.