Latest news from
Unibet: The lack of clarity on
the laws surrounding gambling is used as an advantage to some
companies. You only need to look at the world of online poker to
see how different companies approach areas of uncertainty. One
country where the gambling laws are extremely blurred around the
edges is Greece, and one of the worlds largest betting exchanges
is getting cold feet.
Betfair have said that they will withdraw from the Greek market
until there was greater clarity on gaming regulation in the
country. This comes on the back of a statement issued by the
Greek Gaming Commission stating that gambling firms operating in
Greece, without a permit, would face financial penalties and
potentially criminal sanctions.
Most gambling companies, and forums, are looking to the European
Commission to prevent what is being called ‘protectionist
behavior’ by the Greek authorities. But it was only last month
that the European Commission stated that it would not be
pursuing EU-wide legislation to regulate online gambling.
The decision to withdraw from the Greek market will affect the
balance sheets at Betfair, but that is nothing prepared to the
effect it will have on the players. It is expected that Betfair
will lose around 13 million pounds of profit, which translates
into a lot of Greek gambling. There will be people who rely on
sites like Betfair to have fun and even those who use it as part
of their livelihood.
It is not the first time that Betfair has withdrawn its service
from a country. Earlier this year it withdrew from the German
market because of tax issues that ate into the bottom line.
Whether this will start an onrush of online entities departing
the country of Greece remains to be seen.
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