Athens (Reuters) - UK-based fixed-odds betting company Stanleybet said on Friday a court ordered its outlet in Athens to be shut again while a higher tribunal considered its right to compete with Greek gambling monopoly OPAP. Stanleybet opened a store in the Greek capital and one in the northern city of Thessaloniki late last year, but Greek authorities shut them down for not having an operating licence and for violating a law that forbids online betting.

Der Griechische Staatsrat, in seiner Eigenschaft als höchstes Verwaltungsgericht Griechenlands, hat beschlossen, Rechtsfragen zum Monopol des staatlich lizensierten Glücksspielanbieters OPAP dem Europäischen Gerichtshof (EuGH) vorzulegen. Entsprechend der derzeitigen Rechtslage hat OPAP bis 2020 ein Ausschließlichkeitsrecht für das Angebot von Glücksspielen und Wetten. Nach Ansicht des Staatsrats kann sich OPAP, seit 2000 privatrechtlich organisiert und an der Börse gelistet...

(Athens) - British sports betting group Stanleybet said Wednesday it had taken legal action to reopen two Greek outlets that were closed last year after pressure from state gambling operator OPAP. "We are determined to defend the creation of a regulated, fair and competitive sports betting market in Greece," Stanleybet International communications director Constantinos Maragakis said in a statement.

Greek authorities have raided a sports betting outlet in central Athens belonging to Britain’s Stanleybet, only a week after it began to operate in a challenge to the Greek state-owned gaming monopoly, known as OPAP. The decision is likely to reignite argument about lack of access for private gaming companies that want to provide sports betting services in several European Union markets where lucrative monopolies exist.

Greek betting monopoly operator OPAP has dismissed reports that it is considering acquiring a stake in Spanish gaming group Codere from the Martinez Sampedro family, but reaffirmed its determination to expand geographically beyond its home market. In a filing with the Athens Stock Exchange, OPAP said its goal was to become a leading operator in the international gaming market, reducing its dependence on the current concession with the Greek state.

Brussels (Reuters) - The European Commission is expected to step up legal action against the Netherlands and Greece over restrictions to competition in their gaming markets, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Monday. "They are expected to pursue the cases against Greece and the Netherlands for restrictions in sports betting services, barring any last-minute change of mind," the source said.

France and Greece have been given two more months to respond to legal steps taken by the European Commission over alleged barriers to foreign gaming firms, the European Union executive said last week. The Commission took France and Sweden to within one step of European Court of Justice action in June when it also gave Greece an initial warning that it too was at risk over its gaming laws. It gave all three countries two months to respond.

Reportedly, the already known fact that the E.U. is currently investigating Greece’s gaming practices (among those of other member countries), possibly creates some scepticism as regards OPAP’s already stated potential interest in acquiring a 49% stake in casino Mont Parnes (located in the Athens greater area) once this is set for privatisation.