The European Union has been in the news a lot lately. So has Greece. We’ve all heard about the economic crisis going on in the country. In fact, I was scheduled to visit Greece recently as part of a tour of the Mediterranean, but because of riots, we were sent to Crete instead. This caused a bit of an upset on the tour since most Americans don’t grasps that Crete’s ancient history is an important as that of Greece. I think the only people excited about the change were me and a retired history professor. Alas, I don’t think Greece’s gambling problem is going to be solved by rerouting to Crete. It’s been going on for a number of months and now the country is facing more complaints. So, what’s behind all this?
Well, the EU Commission was expected to open gambling throughout the EU countries in a sort of “fair trade” agreement. However various countries in the EU have turned around and drafted their own gambling laws, restricting and charging additional fees for companies who want to offer gambling inside their borders. Greece, a country that is truly desperate for revenue, is trying to force new gambling operations to be based in Greece itself and to operate out of Greek banks. Added to that, they’d like apply a back-tax to companies who already do business there.
All this strong-arming by Greece isn’t being taken lightly by European online gambling companies. In fact, the online gambling companies have filed a complaint with the European Union asking that body to force Greece to change its stance on gambling. The report is carried in this Bloomberg news article: Online Betting Companies Complain to EU Over Greek Gambling Law. Greece is holding firm because they could use the money.
As a journalist, I’m sometimes still surprised at how many overlooked stories affect our lives without us realizing it. Stories are waiting to be told wherever we look.