Greek regulator adds 1,083 online gambling sites to blacklist

The Greek Gambling Commission has added an additional 1,083 online gambling websites to its blacklist of unlicensed international operators, bringing the total number of websites the list up to 2,708.

Among the websites added to the list were domains belonging to Betsson AB, Tatts Group, 888 Holdings, Ladbrokes, Videoslots, Evoke Gaming and Nektan. The largest number of websites being added to this list belonged to Daub Alderney Limited, who had a total of 94 separate domains.

Access to the sites on the blacklist is required by law to be barred by Greek internet service providers, and any individuals attempting to access these websites are instead redirected to the website of the Hellenic Public Real Estate Corporation, which controls the blacklist.

The Greek authorities have been stepping up efforts to stamp out illegal online gambling sites during the World Cup and added over 578 websites to the blacklist last month as well.

Operators wishing to apply for a temporary licence to operate an online gambling site in Greece can do so under Greece’s regulatory law 4002/2011 but only after an international tender invitation has been made.

Licence holders must be legal entities with registered offices and servers located in Greece, with licences being valid for a period of five years. In addition, websites which host online gambling must have a domain name that ends in ‘gr’.

A total of 24 operators have successfully been licensed to operate in the Greek market, including Paddy Power, Sportwetten and Meridian gaming limited.