Greek Gambling Market Grows For First Time In 5 Years

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Thursday, May 14th, 2015 | Written by Lucy Brown

Greece’s Gaming Oversight and Control Commission (EEEP) has released its gambling results for the whole of 2014, and the news proved a pleasant surprise with revenues rising by 9% to €5.9 billion compared to 2013. This impressive growth represent the first time the market has expanded since the Greek debt crisis struck in 2009, a year when the country generated €8.7 billion in revenues.

Greek Monopoly Takes Lion’s Share

State run monopoly OPAP is the only operator permitted to offer lottery and sports-wagering games inside the country of 11 million people, and according to Greece’s daily news portal Ekathimerini the organization accounted for the biggest share of revenues in 2014, or a total of €3.8 billion from numerical lotteries and sports betting. Meanwhile, its subsidiary company Hellenic Lotteries collected a further €500 million in revenues, including €88.4 million from scratch cards, and together, the two businesses subsequently accounted for 72% of total gambling revenues last year.

In addition, the country’s casinos generated €1.6 billion in 2014, down by €100 million year-over-year, but still accounting for 27% of Greece’s overall gambling market, while the Horse Racing Organization of Greece (ODIE) took in €65 million, a mere 1% of the market. Overall, the country’s citizens spent an average of €187 each gambling last year, a figure 7.5% up on 2013.

Greek Debt

The Mediterranean country is currently struggling with a debt mountain of €315 billion, representing 175.1% of its GDP, and on the 7th May only narrowly managed to avoid a default after making a €200 million payment to the IMF. However, the country faces one financial challenge after another, with a further €770 million repayment due to the IMF in the coming days.

Plans To Double State Revenues

The Greek state collected €525 million in taxes last year, a much needed source of income for a country currently struggling to meet its international financial obligations. However, the Greek government estimates that around €5 billion was wagered on illegal gambling sites in 2014, and the country’s Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, recently announced ambitious plans to regulate and license its online gambling market, a move which could result in an extra €500 million a year for the state.

Not everyone seems convinced by the Finance Minister’s estimates, however, as in 2011 Greece produced just half that amount, or €250 million, from iGaming. Commenting on the forecast, newspaper ekathimerini, wrote:

“After deducting the 80-90 percent payout to punters, 160-240 million euros in gross revenues is left to be taxed by the Greek authorities. Therefore, the actual amount the Greek state can expect from taxing the gross revenues of the until recently illegal online gambling companies will be some eight to 10 times smaller than the 500 million euros the Greek finance minister promised to collect in the letter to his eurozone peers last week.”

Regulated iGaming

Disagreement over figures aside, Greece’s ruling Syriza party is set to shake up the country’s internet gambling market by issuing official five-year online gambling licenses costing €3 million each. The government has also proposed the “immediate, official licensing of existing Online Gaming Providers,” in reference to the 24 international operators who were granted temporary internet licenses back in 2011, before having them revoked the following year. These companies subsequently accused Greece of blatant protectionism and reported it to the European Commission.

Left wing party Syrizia further stated that Greece’s current tax rate would remain the same for gambling operators, but that licensee would be required to pay a minimum €1 million in tax each year, “irrespectively of the actual volume of transactions and with the possibility that other taxes are waived.” Syriza also plans to create a cash-free environment for its future online gambling industry, with debit or prepaid card transactions “managed by an officially licensed Payment Service Provider by the Central Bank of Greece.”

Greek Gamblers

In 2013, Greek citizens lost an average of $420 each, placing it at number nine on the list of gambling countries that year, according to a report authorized by H2 Gambling Capital, although that figure dropped to just $211 in 2014. Over the years, the country has also produced some of the world’s most celebrated gambling figures, including Nikos “Nick the Greek” Dandolos (1883-1966), who is reputed to have won and lost more than $500 million during his lifetime. More recently, Anargyros “Archie Karas” Karabourniotis holds the record for the longest winning streak in history, after turning a $50 bankroll into more than $40 million between 1992 and 1995. Ironically, both men eventually ended up broke.