Greece drops egaming black period
The Greek government has dropped the proposed black period from its draft egaming legislation, following last week's u-turn on tax proposals.
The Greek government has dropped the proposed black period from the draft egaming bill it presented to its parliament last week, which would have required applicant operators to cease activity in the market until approved.
The “black period” clause had been present in the initial draft released by the government in January, leading to fears operators would have to suspend operations until licensed, with the likes of Sportingbet, which generates 15% of NGR from Greece, particularly affected.
However eGaming Review understands from local sources this was not in the bill presented to parliament on Thursday evening last week. The Greek government’s u-turn on the proposed “black period” follows a similar move on its proposed taxation system earlier this month, switching to a 30% gross profits tax from a 6% turnover levy after briefing from industry lobby group the Remote Gambling Association.
While companies will still be required to incorporate in Greece in order to qualify, several of the financial requirements have been lowered, with those licensed only needing a minimum share capital of 400k (compared to 500k before), and a letter of credit for 200k (instead of 300k) in order to enter the tender process.
Other changes introduced include the lowering of the participation fee (minimum bet) from 5 to between 0.10 and 2. The issuing of a player ID card also becomes compulsory.
The Danish government also proposed a “black period” ahead of the regulation of its egaming market, until a complaint over tax rates to the EC compressed the possible timeframe for this to be implemented and enforced.