The Remote Gambling Association has complained to the European Commission about the Greek government’s plans to extend OPAP’s land-based monopoly to online gambling products.

The complaint focuses on the extension of OPAP’s offline monopoly to online products, including sports betting and other gambling products such as casino and poker. The RGA’s main arguments are that the Greek Gambling Act allows for the licensing of online gambling operators but the ministerial decisions and administrative measures undertaken prevent any operator other than OPAP from being granted a full licence.

RGA’s complaint criticises what it says is the failure of the Greek state to implement the Gambling Law of 2011 which provides for the regulation of the Greek online betting and gambling market.

This failure means that operators who currently have licences in other EU member states will not be able to apply for licences in Greece until 2020 at the earliest, the RGA said.

“We believe that the failure to offer licences for online gambling is not because of any concerns about consumer protection but is rather to ensure that from the privatisation of OPAP the Greek government gets the highest possible price for its 33 per cent shareholding,” RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood said. He added that the Greek government had repeatedly failed “to comply with basic EU law”.

Mr Hawkswood said that on March 1, the Greek government made significant revisions to the draft law which have not been notified to the European Commission. The RGA has written to the Commission asking for its intervention to have this latest draft notified to them in accordance with the provisions of Directive 98/34/EC. “Members of the RGA expect all operators to be offered a level playing field across Europe,” he insisted.

The RGA had previously complained to the Commission about the internet and payment blocking mechanisms that have been set up in Greece. The RGA is the largest online gambling trade association in the world.