OPAP Rules Greece as Government Blocks 401 Foreign Gambling Site

The never-ending saga of OPAP sale in Greece is still going on, but it looks like the monopoly operating under Greek gambling laws, will remain in Greek hands. The history of Greek gaming is only made more complicated by the fact that not all EU member states are complying with the European Commission’s recommendations on online gambling, making Greece act the same way too.

The Greek Organization of Football Prognostics (OPAP) has now been given preferential treatment over others by the Greek government. The monopoly offering online casinos in Greece has been deemed illegal by the European Union’s Court of Justice. The European Commission has initially prohibited the Greek legislation, it then went on to lift the ban earlier this year, allowing for the new Greek legislation to come into effect.

OPAS is already enjoying its brick-and-mortar gambling monopoly, designated to last until 2020. Now they will also become the only supplier of online casino gambling, poker cash games, and online sportsbooks in Greece. The Greek Commission for the Supervision and Control of Games outlined a blacklist consisting of 401 online gambling sites, no longer allowed to offer services to Greek citizens.

Greek ISPs were given the list and commanded to block access to gambling sites now deemed illegal. The Bank of Greece has also received a list of banned sites, with a view to block all financial transactions to and from the gambling destinations.

The list of 401 prohibited sites includes such big names as 888 Poker, Bwin.party, Party Poker, Poker Heaven, and many more. However, both Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker have managed to avoid being included on the blacklist.