If you’re looking for the greatest Greek betting sites, then this is where you should be. From Greek gambling regulations, modes of payment most commonly used and popular sports in Greece, we will show all that which is needed to bet online in Greece.
Our guide on how to bet online in Greece gives you a glimpse of what people believe as right or wrong with respect to gambling within the country and some of the best betting sites for Greeks with an easy means of funding your account.
Sports gambling in Greece is entirely lawful, nevertheless, which doubtlessly may be the best local bookmaker or any worldwide betting office?
Online gambling sites based in Greece have several benefits. This means that communication with support agents will never pose a problem since it is always clear and easy to comprehend without any language barriers.
However, numerous Greek punters choose this.
There are much more alternatives at your fingertips when using sportsbooks from abroad in Greece than via domestic bookmakers. This is crucial for many reasons, one of them being the fact that you’ll have access to a wider range of betting markets and will be able to find the website that suits you best.
International betting sites can offer a whole lot more to players without being burdened by the massive Greek betting 35% tax fee. This will directly benefit you the more because, if you seize these promotions and deposit bonuses, you would get better value for your money.
More sites mean increased competition, and this means better odds. With international betting sites, you can check the different websites’ odd before you bet. If you only use Greek betting sites, there are significantly less companies competing for your business and therefore less need to increase their prices.
The most important reason for using international betting sites is the flexibility they offer. They are flexible in terms of offering different sports to bet on, different promotions that can be of interest to you, and various applications for betting and other features that you may like. For their greatest attributes, you can also join multiple sites and utilize them all separately.
There are a lot of good reasons why one should go beyond Greek bookmakers. To be fair, it might be better for you to go for an international betting site instead. To find out which site is the best among the others, please check out our list of the topmost gambling portals in Greece.
Making a deposit or withdrawal by using the highly rated betting sites in Greece is very easy. In their cashier, some of the commonest payment modes are;
Eagerly, Greek gambling platforms accept cash from cardholders with credit and debit cards. This is the most interesting choice for a lot of players because it is too familiar to them. Many people use payment cards; there are options to reverse transactions if fraud is committed that adds extra layer of security.
One of the most used e-wallets in the world is Skrill.You can quickly and easily transact after you have set it up then log in with your email and password.
Skrill also has other added advantages, such as facilitating the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This is beneficial if you want an easy way to make online payments without having to remember too many login details.
Another popular e-payment method is NETELLER, which boasts of being able to facilitate international payments. You will find the NETELLER website quite easy to use; it has a straightforward user interface.
An effective company that offers a prepaid card, bitcoin exchange, money transfer to friends and situs qq family, and also depositing in the best online betting sites in Greece.
The Viva Wallet is an e-payment method that offers more than just basic transactions and as such it is considered to a versatile mode of payment.
It’s a cloud-based bank with physical branches across Europe that helps businesses with creating payment systems, but you can also use it to make deposits and withdrawals at Greek betting sites.
Greece does not have one sport that is the headliner in the news- The Greeks like different kinds of sports and this is seen in the many markets available on Greek betting sites.
Greece has several sports among the most popular for betting; here are just a few of them:
Just like many other Europeans, Greeks are very much into gambling for soccer. This 2004 Euro unforgettable moments include Greece’s defying of odds in each match they were involved until the finals where they beat Portugal featuring Christiano Ronaldo for them to be crowned champions.
Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are among the quality teams in the Super League Greece 1. These clubs have been able to achieve big wins against Manchester United and Juventus respectively. It actually takes place that some being just a few years ago, Olympiacos tasted victory over Manchester United while Panathinaikos too did so over Juventus at about the same time, or rather at the same period of time, which was in recent times.
Water polo is another sport that sees a lot of betting action in Greece. In case you are not familiar with it, water polo involves two teams of seven people playing against each other to score the most points.
The recently in Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Greece overcame Russia to become a powerful team at the water-polo world. In Greece, the country’s very best betting companies deal in A1 Ethniki, which is the leading water polo group.
Similarly to their surprising Euro 2004 victory, a win on the international front took basketball to the pinnacle of Greek sports. In 1987, the men’s national squad triumphed at EuroBasket in Athens and there was no stopping them since then.
The Greek Basket League (GBL) has won 18 European Championships. In Greece, bookmakers offer odds on every GBL game and you can bet also on NBA and other leagues.
Not only did Greece have a successful year in the sport area in 2004, the country also hosted the Summer Olympics. Games of the XXVIII Olympiad were held and that is a befitting tribute to a nation which had its first ever Olympic games as far back as eight century before Christ.
Several betting markets exist for athletics and are especially common in the biggest global competitions.
Tennis has many ardent adherents among the Greeks. Marcos Baghdatis, one of Greece’s great players, reached the finals of the prestigious Australian Open in 2006 and made it to the semis of Wimbledon that same year.
Even on the Halkidiki Peninsula, there are Rafa Nadal Academies. Greek bookies cover around the globe held tennis competitions.
People who love volleyball worldwide watch the Greek Volleyball League referred to as A1 Ethniki, as it is known for being one of the strongest leagues in Europe. The most successful team is Olympiacos with 29 championships while Panathinaikos has won 19.
Some of the best betting sites in Greece can offer you opportunities to place wagers for A1 Ethniki and international leagues as well as competitions.
Although legal, online betting in Greece still is a little bit of an enigma. To understand why, we have to look back at Greece’s betting history.
The Greek gambling laws underwent a major alteration in 1996. In an attempt to regulate sports betting and gaming within their borders the Greek government granted monopoly wagering rights to OPAP, which is a state owned organization. It was initially agreed that these rights should last up to 2020 but were later extended to 2030.
In addition to that, the Greek monopoly created a lot of black market due to lack of competition which caused alarm among other EU members and anger from the firms locked out.
UK firms Stanleybet, Sportingbet and William Hill all attempted to apply individually for licenses in Greece between 2004 and 2007, but were rejected. They claimed it violated the laws of EU free market and as a result Stanleybet opened a shop in Athens in November 2008. It was immediately shut down by the regulatory authorities, however prompting the EU to step in and thus re-opened it in 2009. Alternatively, From 2004 to 2007 three British companies – Sportingbet, William Hill and Stanleybet – all tried to get Greek licenses one after another, but were denied this opportunity. These organisations stated that it violated EU laws on free market which led to Stanleybet opening a store In Athens come November 2008. This was quickly closed by the authorities; although an intervention by the European Union saw it reopened in 2009. Also, Stanleybet tried to open its shop in Athens during November of 2008 while Sportingbet attempted to start operations there at around same time period whereas William Hill did so between these years (from 2004-07). Although they asserted this infringed upon EU law regarding free markets, the companies went ahead with their plans. Nonetheless, European Union came into play because Greek authorities had shut down the outlet but it opened again in two thousand nine.
When the European Union convicted the monopoly of illegality in 2013, what followed was that the Greek government agreed to sell a majority stake in OPAP to a private equity firm. In addition, this verdict made Stanleybet declare that it would sue Greece for loss of profits since its application was rejected in 2004; however, no such eventuality happened.
Since that time, many years have gone by but the situation has not become easier in Greece. By definition, any website with a license from the Hellenic Gambling Commission (HGC) is allowed to provide bookmaking services in Greece. Law 4002/2011 came into effect on July 19, 2011 and provided for the issuance of several temporary licenses, which included Bet365 Greece and Bwin Greece among other Greek versions of popular international brands.
However, lawmakers in Greece have continued to jeopardize such effortless accessibility through a range of propositions. In 2016, there was an idea of increasing tax from 30% to 35%, which has since been authorized. And in the year 2018, they proposed a fee of €4 million for legal sports betting providers. This figure has now been adjusted downwards by one million euros although it is still substantial.
Fortunately, this does not affect the gamblers – only the bookies. You can gamble freely on any site you want whether it is based in Greece or overseas and do this within existing legality.
Yes, gambling online is entirely lawful in Greece. This article is meant to give you more information about the legalities of betting online in Greece and also on top Greek bookmakers where you can place bets on any sport you love.
Free bets are offered by a few Greek betting sites, but many players prefer global sites where they can find more free bets and other bonuses for new customers and regular users.
To gamble online in Greece, you must be above 21 years of age. This is a bit older than some other European countries where the betting clock starts ticking at 18 but it is still customary across the globe.
A.Where you bet and how much you win determines the answer to that question. Only winnings up to €100 are tax-free. If you win between one hundred euros and five hundred, you will be taxed fifteen percent whereas any amount above this will be taxed at twenty percent. If Greek companies such as OPAP are used, the taxes due can be paid through their sites; otherwise, it is your responsibility to ensure payment of these taxes in case you gamble on foreign firms.
