A comprehensive “package” of measures to combat illegal gambling with hefty fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years is among the provisions of a new bill that Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Deputy Minister Thanos Petrálias will present today to the Ministerial Council.
The bill’s provisions drastically tighten the regulatory framework for the gaming market, targeting shops, clubs, and unlicensed online platforms to protect minors. The measures aim to put a “brake” on a “black market” estimated to exceed €1.5 billion annually and deprive public coffers of significant revenue.
Additionally, the bill incorporates public sector pension regulations and other salary and tax provisions, such as the return without income criteria of two rents per year instead of one to approximately 50,000 doctors, nurses, and teachers serving “away from home,” and the direct return of special consumption tax for agricultural diesel at the pump through a special mobile application.
Provisions of the Pierrakakis-Petrálias bill
The bill’s provisions include, among others:
1. Measures to combat illegal betting. As Kyriakos Pierrakakis has stated, this is a comprehensive framework that will strike at the root of the problem, whether it concerns unlicensed sites or illegal gambling venues. Specifically, the following are provided:
– Immediate and long-term sealing and removal of operating licenses from municipalities for establishments where illegal gambling takes place.
– Tightening of the licensing framework for internet cafes.
– Strict penalties for violators. Those organizing games without a license will face heavy prison sentences and high monetary fines, while in cases of gambling, sanctions become even stricter, reaching up to multi-year imprisonment. Specifically, if the games involve gambling, imprisonment of up to 10 years and monetary penalties from €50,000 to €100,000 are provided.
– Prison sentences for those who obstruct inspections.
According to a 2024 study by the Gaming Supervision and Control Committee (ΕΕΕΠ), nearly 800,000 citizens reportedly played on unlicensed sites, illegal clubs, and illegal casinos. The amounts collectively involving these entities are estimated at approximately €1.67 billion, meaning a revenue loss for the state of about half a billion. The ΕΕΕΠ already maintains a blacklist of illegal providers counting nearly 11,000 websites.
2. Agricultural diesel tax refund at the pump via mobile app and QR code. The Independent Authority for Public Revenue is developing a new application through which farmers will receive an immediate discount of €0.41/liter when paying at gas stations. The new system to be activated is based on a special application available through the ΑΑΔΕ’s MyData App.
3. Return without income criteria of two rents per year instead of one to public education teachers, doctors, and nurses who rent housing at their place of service outside the Attica Region (except for the Island Regional Unit included in the measure) and outside the Thessaloniki Regional Unit.
4. Prohibition of new short-term rental licenses in the 1st Municipal Community of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
5. Automatic removal from the Short-Term Rental Property Registry of properties located in areas where the prohibition of new licenses applies and are transferred either by sale, parental provision, or inheritance. Also, for as long as the restriction is in effect, their re-registration in the Registry is not possible.
