Legislative intervention with targeted measures to combat illegal gambling and mainly the protection of minors, the Minister of National Economy and Finance announced, Kyriakos Pierrakakisduring his speech in today’s (31.7.25) discussion of the House of Institutions and Transparency on the appointment of Mr. Antonis Bartholomew as Chairman of the Games Supervision and Control Committee (EEP).
The new measures announced by the minister, and will be in effect in the autumn, are providing for strictly penalties in cases of illegal gambling. Specifically, the minister announced a holistic framework that will hit the problem at his root, whether it is unlawful sites or places of illegal gambling.
In particular, the following are provided:
- Immediate and long -term sealing and removal of municipal license in shops in which illegal gambling takes place
- Tightening of a license to internet coffee
- Strict penalties for offenders
- Prison sentences for those who hinder the check
Following is the full text of the Minister’s speech:
“We are going to today’s issue concerning the Games Control Committee and our proposal for the recruitment of Mr. Bartholomew, the Independent Administrative Authority with administrative and financial independence and autonomy, responsible for regulating, supervising and controlling the markets, and for public service markets, Revenue.
With the main responsibilities basically the recommendation for the issuance of digital regulatory legislation, the granting of the projected licenses, certifications and the audit of each section of the game chain.
It is set up by nine members and the position of the President is full and exclusively employed, and its appointment is made by decision of the Minister of National Economy and Finance, in the opinion of the House of Institutions and Transparency.
Mr. Antonis Bartholomew, who has all the formal and substantive qualifications for the successful fulfillment of the president’s duties, is proposed to cover the position. He has a wealth of scientific training, work and administrative experience, a graduate of the 1980 Piraeus Higher Industrial School in 1980. He specialized in Financial and International Economics at Fordham University in New York in 1986.
His professional career began in the United States of America, where he worked at the Atlantic Bank of New York and then at the Olympian Bank in 1992. Upon his return to Greece, he took responsibility for public and private businesses, gaining significant experience in the administration and management of critical organizations.
The project he is called upon to undertake is crucial to ensuring the proper functioning of the gambling market, protect citizens and strengthen the national economy.
And, after all of the above, it is proposed to appoint Mr. Antonis Bartholomew as President of the EUP. and the relevant opinion is requested by your committee.
I just add two priorities – in my opinion – with which the EUPE has also been dealing with. and the Ministry of Finance next time. One concerns addiction. We mentioned it before, it is at the core of the responsibilities of the EUPE, at the core of the EUCC activities. and of ours in relation to gambling.
The second concerns targeted measures for illegal gambling. And here we will come to intervene legally to deal with the issue in a comprehensive way. Our goal is to create a holistic frame that will hit the problem of illegal gambling at its root, whether we are talking about unlawful sites or places of illegal gambling. The new framework we would like to take into account the reality created by modern technology, as well as proposals for specific measures, which have been tabled by markets involved. For example, we are thinking of targeted measures so that we can more effectively carry out immediate and long -term sealing and removal of municipal license in stores where illegal gambling is carried out, tightening the framework for licensing in internet cafes. Prison sentences for those who hinder control.
According to a study by the EUEP In 2024, nearly 800,000 citizens allegedly played on unlawful sites, illegal clubs and illegal casinos. The amounts in total of these entities are estimated at around € 1.67 billion, which means loss of revenue for the state of about half a billion.
Therefore, the EUPEP It already has a blacklist of illegal providers that measures nearly 11,000 websites, assists the law enforcement authorities to detecting and suppressing illegal ground stores, transmits complaints of illegal games and cooperates with the judicial authorities, the money laundering authority, and more.
But, in any case, we realize that we need a more modern institutional framework and so we look forward to your help. We believe that it will be both catalytic for the health of state institutions and public revenue. “