Greece’s gambling regulator has opened a tender for outside legal and technical expertise to strengthen how licensed operators identify and verify their customers, part of a wider effort to tighten supervision of the country’s online market.
The Hellenic Gambling Supervision and Control Commission (EEEP) is seeking a contractor to review the framework governing Electronic Player Accounts (EPAs), the digital profiles through which customers access licensed gambling platforms. The regulator wants help redesigning how player identities are verified, with a focus on stronger Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures and safeguards against money laundering, fraud and underage gambling.
Tender documents show the EEEP wants support on both the technical and legal standards behind secure player identification. The work will examine how licensed operators certify and authenticate customer identities before granting access to regulated gaming services.
The consultancy contract is valued at €28,500 before VAT and runs until the end of 2026, or until 190 hours of advisory work are completed, whichever comes first. The successful bidder will deliver three progress reports setting out recommendations for improving Greece’s player verification regime.
Wider reforms gather pace
The procurement sits within a broader policy shift rather than a standalone technical upgrade. Weeks earlier, the Greek government submitted draft legislation to Parliament that would significantly expand the regulator’s authority, one of the most substantial overhauls of the country’s framework since online licensing was introduced.
Among the proposed changes is an increase in the EEEP’s permanent workforce from 80 to 110 employees. Recruitment would focus on specialists in cybersecurity, information technology, intelligence analysis, market surveillance and enforcement, areas the regulator views as increasingly important in countering sophisticated illegal operations.
The bill would also give the EEEP broader enforcement tools, including the ability to seek the rapid removal of illegal gambling websites and online content, widen Greece’s blacklist of unlicensed operators, and strengthen cooperation with law enforcement through an expanded Gaming Inspectors Corps holding formal investigative authority. Greece’s regulated market reached €3.07 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2025, giving the regulator a growing base of licensed activity to supervise.
Black market remains the target
The proposed reforms introduce tougher criminal penalties for those involved in illegal gambling. Organizers could face prison terms starting at 10 years alongside fines ranging from €50,000 to €700,000. More serious cases, involving organized criminal groups, repeat offences or the involvement of minors, would carry heavier sanctions, with fines reaching €800,000 and sentences extending beyond a decade, particularly where money laundering, fraud or tax offences are involved.
The tougher stance follows repeated warnings from National Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who has described the illegal gambling sector as both a criminal enterprise and a drain on public finances.
Official estimates put Greece’s black-market gambling activity at between €1.6 billion and €2 billion each year. Authorities believe it deprives the state of roughly €600 million in annual tax revenue, reinforcing the push to strengthen both market supervision and enforcement against unlicensed operators.
The contractor’s three progress reports are due before the end of 2026, running in parallel with the legislation now before Parliament. Together they set the terms for how far Greece can tighten player verification and how hard it can press operators before the reforms take effect.
Source: Hellenic Gambling Supervision and Control Commission
