Earlier this year, Greece submitted its updated iGaming framework to the European Commission (EC) to get the latter’s seal of approval. That framework received the commission’s blessing, and the country’s iGaming industry was off to the races. There has been substantial interest on the part of operators to get involved with the Greek market, but changes that are being made to the slot machine segment certainly won’t make them happy. Greece is following in the footsteps of the UK and a small handful of other countries, and will severely handicap a lot of iGaming activity.

According to Greece’s new gambling rules, which were just published through the country’s official Gazette media outlet, digital random number generator (RNG) games are getting an overhaul. Going forward, online slots will have to implement a stake cap of €2 ($2.36), a wait time between spins of at least three seconds and avoid being advertised anywhere other than on the operator’s site. In addition, slot winnings are limited to €5,000 ($5,900) per gaming session. 

The three-second rule will apply to all RNG-based games, except poker. Across the board, no Internet-based game will be able to offer a prize of more than €70,000 ($82,614), and all online gamblers are required to establish limits for deposits, losses and duration of play going in. If a user gets to 80% of their limits, operators will be required to alert them. 

Affiliates will be allowed to work with the operators, but under strict control. They have to sign agreements with the operators that cover things like the method of calculation of fees and how these are paid, and the operator is required to inform Greece’s gaming regulator, the Hellenic Gaming Commission, of any affiliate agreements.