The payment of a prize for participation in online gambling must be made expressly to a legitimate licensee without the intervention of third parties, with the exception of credit institutions or payment institutions legally established and operating in Greece or legally established and operating in another Member State of the EU or the European Economic Area. in such a way as to guarantee the identification of the player. Credit or payment institutions legally established and operating in Greece are prohibited from paying participation fees and withdrawals for participation in gambling to accounts held with such institutions by illegal online gambling operators, as set out in the HGC blacklist. Online bingo is legal and regulated in Greece. Apart from that, Greek players can also play bingo online on international sites. To save you from having to find the right ones, we have shared with you a list that can be your guide through the world of online bingo. Enjoy! In the meantime, I will not recommend online bingo sites to Greek players until this issue is resolved decisively. The Greek gambling market continued its steady growth in 2019 as OPAP completed a legally complex TLV rollout and operators of the country`s growing online market are waiting for permanent licenses pending the completion of secondary legislation. Certification is granted to manufacturers or importers or, in exceptional cases, to those who have a legal title or right to play a game and who submit an application in accordance with the provisions of Decision No 130/2 of the Greek Gaming Commission of 18.11.2014 (B 3225). Players in Greece are spoilt for choice when it comes to online bingo platforms from local and international providers and we hope they will be able to enjoy bingo for years to come. Therefore, we want to see the proof of license of each bingo site immediately. If a website doesn`t offer that, nothing it has to offer matters anymore.
If the website has a license issued by an official gaming authority, we may carry out our security checks. Online gambling is on the rise in Greece, generating more and more revenue year after year. Given that online bingo is already legal in the country, we can only expect the situation to evolve even more. After legalizing online gambling in 2011, the state issued 24 temporary licenses to various operators. A year later, however, the experiment was stopped and a new licensing system was developed. Currently, only the Greek company OPAP, valid until 2030, has a monopoly on the provision of services in the field of lotteries and online casinos. The area of the room where the slot machine is to be installed must comply with the legal requirements. In exceptional cases, slot machines may be located in a building where commercial gaming is not practiced. In accordance with Article 2 of Law 2433/1996, the Athens Court of First Instance, in accordance with the procedural rules of the injunction, issued three injunctions to put an end to its illegal advertising activities against three sports newspapers: FOS TON SPOR and SPORTIME GOAL NEWS. Article 2(2) of Law 2433/1996 prohibits the unlawful public offering of bets on racehorses, individual games, sports variables or fixed odds or other events which the nature of Paris would make.
This prohibition also extends to advertising. Violations of this prohibition will be punished by severe penalties. The General Regulations for Fixed-Odds Matches (Decision 29159/2000 Ministerial Fixtures) provide that participation in fixed-odds matches should only be subject to pressure disseminated by OPAP and authorised exclusively by OPAP (Greek: DELTIA Stichimatos). Participation in games by telephone (telephone betting) by electronic or other means (e.g. Internet, digital television, etc.) is prohibited (Article 1(6)). Similarly, only matches (football, basketball or other) organised by natural or legal persons operating in Greece in accordance with the law may be listed on “DELTIA Stichimatos” (Article 1(7)). A bingo site that only has one license but has nothing else to offer still doesn`t mark it for our list. There are even more aspects that need to be checked before rating a website as good enough for our Greek readers.
Online gambling in Greece has also been legal since 2012 under Decision No. 23/3/23.10.2012 of the Hellenic Gaming Commission. All forms of online gambling, including online sports betting, internet lottery, digital bingo, and online casino games, were a monopoly of OPAP until 2021. The activities of all entertainment institutions are regulated by the Gaming Supervisory and Control Commission (EEEP).