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The result was that OPAP which is the Greek Organization of Football Prognostics acquired a monopoly on all online gambling operations on the territory of the country. Furthermore, there are no taxes on the winnings of players who gamble at OPAP-licensed establishments. These restrictive regulations led to various accusations of protectionism and violation of the free trade laws in the European Union. It is precisely these excessive taxes that have driven a number of foreign operators from the Greek market. Some operators opted for leaving Greece right away since their temporary licenses were not to be renewed once they expire, others decided to try and wait out until the legal gambling environment in the country improves. Meanwhile, there are over twenty interactive gambling websites that continue to operate under the interim licenses they were granted by the Greek authorities after the enforcement of the Gambling Act in , with PokerStars being one of the most popular options for players from the country. The new permanent licenses are yet to be issued, however, with OPAP still exercising its monopoly in this sector. Because the liberalization of the market is expected to take place soon, many foreign online casinos have already commenced accepting Greek players. All forms of landbased gambling on the territory of Greece are considered legal and are regulated by the so-called Hellenic Gambling Commission. Because of all this, it may come as a surprise that the current gambling policies of the country where democracy was born are anything but progressive. Under the pressure on behalf of the European Commission, the Greek officials have decided in favor of granting permanent licenses to offshore gambling operators. This argument, was rather hypocritical on its own, considering the fact OPAP was issued a license, allowing it to operate over 30, landbased video lottery terminals in the country. Things escalated rather quickly and only a year later, in , the European Commission intervened and ruled that the restrictive policies of monopolization of the gambling market in Greece were indeed in violation of EU laws. In other words, their servers should be located within the boundaries of the country and the websites should utilize the. Also, it was in Greece that mass games of chance were first introduced and organized. Excessive taxation is precisely what might drive foreign companies away from Greece. Players do not face any repercussions for betting at unlicensed gambling websites.{/INSERTKEYS}{/PARAGRAPH} As is usually the case, all licensed gambling operators offering their services to players located in Greece are expected to contribute with taxes. However, the excessive taxes imposed on foreign gambling operators appear to be the biggest stall in the path toward market liberalization. Nevertheless, the Greek legislators spoke strongly against games running on Random Number Generators. Players at licensed brick-and-mortar venues are allowed to legally engage in a wide range of games, including staples like blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, and slots. This was followed by making provisions for setting up a permanent licensing system for offshore and native operators alike. The Hellenic Gambling Commission is responsible for monitoring the landbased gambling market in the country, performing various audits, and ensuring fair gaming and transparent conduct in the interest of Greek players. Instead of opening the market to foreign competition, the Greek authorities ended up monopolizing the interactive gambling sector, instead. The first steps towards introducing adequate online gambling regulations have already been made, but unfortunately, the market in the country has remained in limbo for quite some time. In order to obtain a local license, foreign gambling operators need to be based in Greece. In fact, the Ancient Greeks attributed a divine origin to gambling as becomes evident by a myth which relates the story of Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon playing dice in order to apportion the universe between themselves. Greek Casinos. Online gambling activities, on the other hand, are within the field of responsibility of OPAP , which holds a monopoly over the entire interactive gaming market in the country. Following the financial crisis the country was struggling with, the Greek government decided to soften its stance on the gambling sector and passed the Gambling Act of The goal was to generate additional profits through the taxation and licensing of foreign gambling operators, with big names like William Hill and Betfair being among the first ones to enter the Greek market with interim licenses. Many players from Greece actually opt in for registering at foreign web-based gambling operators that have not acquired a license from local authorities. The result was the Greek government coming up with several proposals for amending its online gambling legislation. Meanwhile, the process of renewing the temporary licenses of foreign operators with permanent ones is expected to be completed by the end of However, due to the hefty taxes many offshore gambling providers may choose not to reapply for local licenses. When the popularity of interactive gambling increased dramatically at the turn of the 21st century, online casinos were met with such a strong opposition on behalf of the Greek government that the latter went as far as to enforce a ban on all forms of web-based gaming for real-money. This caused the Greek government to re-evaluate its stance in regard to online gambling. {PARAGRAPH}{INSERTKEYS}Greece has a rich history of gambling, which can be traced back to antiquity. Furthermore, Greece has suffered somewhat of an economic crisis in the past decade, so much so that the European Union had to bail it out not once, but twice for this period. Meanwhile, the foreign operators which were granted temporary licenses were politely asked by the government to wind down their services on the local market. All of this lead to the liberalization of the Greek gambling market coming to a standstill. Gambling was among the favorite pastimes of Greek soldiers who reportedly engaged in dice games as early as the Trojan War. At least not so far, which is to say the market continues to be rather under-regulated and restrictive.