Stanleybet allowed to reopen Greek outlets

The UK sports betting company Stanleybet has been allowed by an Athens court to reopen its outlet in the City. In late 2008 Stanleybet had opened two outlets one in Athens the second in Thessaloniki but they were promptly shut down as they violated Greek law what allows only the OPAP monopoly on sports betting shops which it has with the Greek government until 2020.

The monopoly was challenged by Stanleybet as it violated European Union law and was appealing to the European Commission. The court issued a temporary ruling suspending a previous decision on the closure of Stanleybet’s store in Athens,” Stanleybet said in a press release. A final ruling is expected in a couple of months.

The Chief Executive of OPAP; Christos Hadjiemmanuil indicated that a ruling by the high court in Greece would confirm the firms monopoly and could overrule the decision by the administrative court.

Ladbrokes goes to court against the Norwegian government

Ladbrokes has today appealed against the rejection of its application for a betting license to allow it to trade in Norway; it was originally turned down in October 2004. The refusal had led Ladbrokes to initiate legal proceeds against Norway citing it was a breach of EC directives and the EFTA agreement.

John O’Reilly Ladbrokes’ Managing Director of Remote Betting and Gaming said “We are appealing the judgment because the court’s assessment of the evidence doesn’t relate directly to our case. Vital aspects in the EFTA-law court judgment of May 2007 have not been taken into consideration, and the judgment is solely built on the national “slot machine case” of March 2007 which is not relevant to our application. The monopoly laws in Norway conflict with the EU Treaty, particularly with regard to the principles of freedom of establishment and the free movement of services. We continue to challenge for our right to be regulated in Norway and to provide free and fair competition to the monopoly.”

The difficulty that Ladbrokes is having with the Norwegian government concerning gambling monopolies in an EC country has also been mirrored by the recent troubles StanleyBet has had with the Greek Government and OPAP.

Stanleybet’s Greek outlets subject to police raid

The Greek Police authority has raided the Athens outlet of Stanleybet the UK based sports betting group. The shop had been opened for just over a week in a direct challenge to the state gambling operator OPAP, who have had a monopoly in Greece since 1996.

Following a complaint made by OPAP Greek police raided the outlet which resulted in the confiscation of equipment and money and the arrest of 2 employees who were both subsequently released. The Stanleybet outlet according to police had “conducted illegal betting…without a permit from the appropriate authorities…aiming to make monetary gain at the expense of the Greek state.” This was dismissed by Stanleybet who say they are adhering to their legal right to provide gambling services in the European Union under E.U. law and prior European Court of Justice Rulings.