What Should I Expect From the Best Online Casinos in Greece?
There are dozens of online casinos offering their services to Greek players, which might make it hard for you to find a suitable gambling site to trust your money with. The VegasSlotsOnline team have years of experience in the iGaming experience, and we’ve done the research for you. The best online casinos in Greece are right here on this page and have been chosen by our experts for their superb performance. Below, we’ve provided you a rundown of the many benefits you will enjoy at our carefully selected Greece online casinos.
Legitimate Licensing and Strict Security Measures
We know how important safety is when it comes to gambling online in Greece. Scam sites are very easy to run into, which is why we only approve casinos with valid licences to be featured on this page. A license by an established gambling regulator will guarantee your protection, since casino sites must meet very strict safety requirements to obtain it.
Our Greek betting sites utilize advanced SSL encryption to protect your personal information and implement various measures to combat underage gambling and gambling addiction. On top of that, our trusted online casinos all boast an excellent customer support team ready to answer any queries you may have on the site’s security protocols.
Greatest Casino Games Online in Greece
Greek players love a massive variety of online casino games, which is why we ensure all the casinos listed here have it all. Our casinos’ lobbies are packed with loads of different slot machines, including popular Greek-themed games like Zeus by WMS and Novamatic’s Sparta.
Aside from slots, you’ll find classic table games such as blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat, as well as their live dealer counterparts, powered by the likes of Evolution Gaming and NetEnt. Keno is also very popular in the country, and you’ll be spoilt for choice with the various keno games on offer at our top Greek gambling sites.
The operators listed on this page double up as mobile casinos in Greece too, which means you can play your favorite games on any device you want, wherever you want.
Various Deposit Options for Greek Players
Credit cards, prepaid cards, and e-wallets are some of the deposit and withdrawal methods you’ll be able to use at our Greece online casino sites. E-wallets like Skrill and Neteller are a preferred option in the country, due to their added discreetness and anonymity.
Aside from variety in terms of payment options available, our Greek online casinos offer fast payouts. You’ll be collecting your winnings in no time, no matter which banking method you choose to withdraw with.
A Complete Overview of Online Gambling in Greece
The Greek government was initially very much in opposition to internet gambling, and in 2002 passed a law which banned all forms of electronic gaming. The law was perhaps too far-reaching in that it failed to differentiate between gambling, video games, or land-based machines, to the point that it was illegal to play simple games like video chess in internet cafes.
In the meantime OPAP, of which the government owned 34%, continued to control a monopoly over all land-based sports betting and lotteries. A high-profile incident in 2008 saw the Greek authorities raid two shops that were being operated by UK-based sports betting firm Stanleybet. This was the same year that the EU formally demanded Greece remove its barriers to the free movement of gaming services in the country.
Gambling with the Greek Economy
In 2011 the Omnibus Bill was introduced, which legalized land-based gaming machines and online gambling in a bid to raise money through licences and taxes to boost the flagging Greek economy. 24 provisional licences were issued, with big names such as Paddy Power and Sportingbet among those to receive them. However, tax legislation meant that the government-backed OPAP was able to operate under much more favourable terms, and other European operators, such as Betfair, lodged a complaint via the Remote Gaming Association with the EU over discrimination.
The Bill failed to last more than a year. By 2012 the licences had been revoked and Greek authorities awarded OPAP the monopoly on the country’s gambling market until 2030. Those operators that had received the provisional licences were told to wrap up their services in the country in November 2012. Once again complaints were brought before the EU, with many operators suggesting that the policy was intended to raise the price of the government’s shares in OPAP, which it intended to sell.
Sure, enough the government sold its shares in OPAP to investment firm Emma Delta in May 2013 for €652m, although the European Court of Justice has since ruled that the law governing its monopoly is illegal.
A State of Flux
This has left Greece in a temporary state of flux, with ‘illegal’ laws in place, and under close scrutiny from the EU due to massive debt repayments that the country owes.
In a turn of events, the new Syriza party, which came to power in the elections of January 2015, has declared the intention to legalize online gaming once again, with the intention of raising €500m in extra taxation revenue for the cash-strapped state. Part of the proposal calls for the ‘immediate, official licencing of existing gaming providers’, with licence fees to be revised.
The Greek Gambling Commission released figures stating that total revenues from the country’s industry in 2014 were €5.9bn, with the government able to secure tax revenue of €525m. The Commission also estimated that up to €5bn was wagered on illegal online casino sites by Greek nationals during the same year, and the aim of any legislation will be to earn tax revenue on that portion of the market.
A New Landscape for Online Gambling in Greece
The situation in Greece now seems to be a little easier to understand, but actions do not always follow legislation. After once being very anti-online gambling as a concept, Greece has developed an understanding of the revenue potential of the industry, and the thought process has changed somewhat.
Online gambling in principle has been legal in Greece since the 2011 Gambling Act, and while as stated above, there were some issues at one point, online gambling services in Greece are legal as long as they are provided by legal and licensed operators. Special licenses must be given to a company to allow games of chance to be played.
The result of this is that, much like Denmark and Finland, online gambling is legal in the country, yet it is still operated under a monopoly. Licenses have been granted to a few companies, however, including big names like Betfair.
Proposed legal changes in the future may see the monopoly of the OPAP increase in Greece, with a stronghold similar to that being maintained over lottery and sports betting being taken in the online casino world.
There is no guarantee whether this will happen. At the moment, online casinos licensed in other countries can offer their services to Greek players. However, the government seems intent to keep things local, so more changes may well be coming soon.
In the meantime, players in Greece are recommended to use the big name casino operators who have licenses in the country, to ensure safety and security, as well as great bonuses and wide variety in gaming options.
