For decades the state-owned Greek organization OPAP (Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics) has been holding the monopoly on Greece’s gambling market.
Since the European Court of Justice ruled in January that OPAP's monopoly is illegal, the authorities introduced reforms to ensure protection of consumers, as well as free access to the market as provided by EU law. This becomes more pertinent now, the as OPAP has ceased to be a state-controlled body, and now the authorities, along with he EU, must secure fair competition terms.
The Greek authorities are ensuring the European Commission that new gambling regulations will guarantee consumers’ safety and free access. However, they granted more monopoly benefits to OPAP just a few days before privatisation, thinking that in this way they would get a better price. Such benefits include monopoly in offline sports betting and lotteries until 2030.
Another issue to be addressed probably by the European authorities soon, is the status of the few licenses already issued to private operators for online betting. When such licenses were granted companies invested serious money. Now it seems that the authorities are trying to revoke them in favor of the privatized OPAP.
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