Greece Making Waves in Online Gambling Industry

Greece is clearly expanding its global footprint when it comes to online gambling, with this sector playing a significant role in its economy. While this European country may not be the largest in terms of population, it certainly has one of the largest gaming industries. What was once a monopolized sector, it is becoming increasingly evident that the country is making room for new providers, – many of which offer the best Greek no deposit bonus codes – to make their presence known.

Twenty-four operators have received licenses to offer their platforms in Greece, according to the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC). As things stand, two additional companies will join this year, expanding that number.

Spinomenal Gains A Manufacturer’s License

Just a few weeks ago, the HGC has granted Spinomenal a manufacturer’s license in the country, so that the company can now work in collaboration with authorized gambling operators that are currently operating or planning to launch their operations.

Spinomenal is already operating in Romania and Malta, and in 2022, the UK also granted approval for its Panda Bluemoon and SubTech brands to enter its market. Spinomenal was also certified from a number of other countries, namely Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, Colombia, South Africa, and others.

Relax Gaming Also Approved by HGC

The most recent approval was that of Relax Gaming, the company that hosts a number of slot titles such as Money Train 3, Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop, and several others, making up a games catalogue that boasts over 4,000 games.

Thanks to this new iGaming supplier license, Relax will be able to provide this full range of titles to Greece’s licensed gambling operators. According to what’s being reported, Relax is also working to have partnerships in place so that it could have at least one more deal by the end of the first quarter.

This iGaming aggregator and supplier has been successful in the countries that it dominated, namely the UK. In 2021, Relax consolidated its connections with Booming Games and William Hill. This year, Relax plans to work together with AboutSlots to improve their content selection.

In a company announcement, Alexia Smilovic Ronde, Chief Regulatory Officer at Relax Gaming, expressed her pleasure that Relax Gaming will continue growing on a global scale within a jurisdiction that has room for further growth in the online casino domain. She further claimed that Relax Gaming will be keeping “a close eye on regional regulatory developments to continue with its successful journey of expansion in newly regulated markets.”

Greece: Then and Now

To address organized crime, Greece had banned illegal gambling back in 2002. However, due to economic difficulties, it reversed its decision in 2011 and began issuing temporary licenses for iGaming. Despite this, operators soon realized that the government-owned OPAP had a monopoly on the market and was preventing fair competition.

Numerous operators left in a year’s time due to Greece’s reliance on a monopoly, which resulted in a tax revenue of €60,000 (US$64,488) between 2013 and 2016. As a result, Greece made further legislative changes and granted permanent licenses to 15 iGaming operators in July 2021.

Still, the costs are high, with online casino licenses costing €2 million (US$2.15 million). Despite this, the iGaming industry in Greece is growing, and the HGC is taking action against offshore operations. By the end of last year, it added 509 new online operators to its blacklist of illegal sites, bringing the total to 3,305 in under two years.

As the black market faces more challenges, the legal market will be able to expand further. Stakelogic entered the Greek market in late 2022 through a partnership with BetShop, and significant market growth is expected in 2023.