The Greek Ministry of Finance announced that it has reconsidered the severe limits related to online casino wagers. From May 2022 onward, the maximum wager is increased from €2 to €20. The latter is valid for poker games and RNG (random number generator-based games).
Changes in the existing gambling laws have been on the political pipeline for about a year and the Greek authorities have finally agreed on the following:
- The max jackpot amount a player can win when playing a game of chance is €140,000 instead of €70,000.
- The speed of play will be reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
- Operators willing to serve Greek customers have an extension period to connect to the centralized monitoring system. The compliance window closes December 2022.
The above-mentioned alterations were welcomed not only by the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC), but also by the licensees that have been operating in a state of turmoil over the past decade due to regulatory issues Greek officials needed to address.
Greece is among the countries that act cautiously when it comes to gambling legislation and market liberalization. What's more, even the ECJ (European Court of Justice) required the country to review its gambling laws.
Earlier this year, the Greek gambling watchdog introduced the “Whisper” – a tip line where people can anonymously report illegal online casinos or advertisements that contradict with the country laws. The “Whisper” was aimed to protect residents from the dangers of playing at unregulated casinos.
At the same time, the HGC continues to award licenses to reputable brands, the latest of them being PokerStars. Some of the game studios that got the nod from the HGC to operate in Greece are SoftSwiss, Yggdrasil, iSoftbet, Oryx.
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