Update: Greece to Grant Online Betting Licences

Greek Finance Ministry announces auctioning of fifteen to fifty five-year licences According to the Reuters reports, the Greek Finance Ministry has presented a draft gaming law proposing auctioning of fifteen to fifty online betting licenses with a five-year duration and allowing up to 30 000 low-stake gaming machines. The objective of the proposed law is to enable Greece to achieve the planned 2011 revenue of Euro 700 million based on licensing and royalties. The Finance Ministry proposed a 6 percent gaming tax on revenue for both online gaming and gaming machines. As per the proposal, licences will be acquired through an international auction and further provided exclusively through Greece-based websites. The Finance Ministry claims it will be submitted to parliament "as soon as possible”. Additionally, the proposed law envisages issuing of four to ten slot machine licenses, each valid for up to 30,000 machines with an 80 percent minimum payout ratio. The prospective bidders must be public entities with minimum share capital of Euro 500,000 having headquarters or permanent presence in Greece.