Online Gambling Updates in Europe: Greece, Italy and Russia

The tide keeps turning for online gambling across Europe, with significant developments yielding mixed indications in Greece, Russia, and France.

Greek Online Gambling Legislation Update

In Greece, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis voiced support the introduction of gambling legislation for the country's economy. Left-wing party Syriza seeks to bail out the country economically through offering online gambling. For Greece, this bailout means utilizing added online gambling revenue to maintain economic levels that keep European Aid flowing into the country, and keeps them in the EU.

This measure appears all the urgent if not desperate as a result of the drafting of a letter by Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis to the Eurogroup. The note all but promised added national revenues of €500 million a year from online gambling. The lack of tangible evidence upon which that estimate is based throws particular confusion on the assertion.

Media estimates from a European Commission reports place the maximum generability of revenues imposable by the Greek government on the current market at a maximum of €160-€240, not even half of Varoufakis' estimate.

Here's hoping that the yet to be unveiled plan for how to generate the €500 is a refreshing and innovative surprise. What is clear is that Greece sets to be ready to regulate online gaming.

French Withdrawal from Italy

Pessimism rules the French approach, as France officially and fully pulled from Italy, ending poker service to Italian players. The conclusion of the offering of games to Italy concluded without France ever obtaining the EU required AAMS-issued license necessary. Italian players had been relying on loopholes that the poker room regulation contained to continue to play French offered games until this point, when the poker room aligned itself fully with Italian regulation policy.

Russia Online Gambling Expansion?

In Russia, Smile Expo organizers announced that the 2015 RGW will bring together country representatives and the industry to evaluate the prospects of online gambling in Russia's major state zones, and determine the viability of continue expansion of online regulation.

No one said unifying the crown was easy, not ever for online gamblers.