Online gaming in Greece has grown progressively between 2017 and 2022, as the latest data shows, but a lot more needs to be done in the sector to boost trust and to solidify its reputation, Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGA) Chief Operations Officer Dimitris Papadopoulos said on Wednesday, at the 2nd Greek Online Gaming Day conference.

Held at a central Athens hotel after a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference was organized by HGA, the regulator of the gaming sector, in collaboration with CLEON Conferences & Communications. It was supported by online betting companies Novibet, Winmasters, NetBet, Fonbet and Interwetten, all HGA members. 

Papadopoulos spoke of the authority's beginnings in 2012-2015, as HGA was "one of the first entities to focus on the online market", and of the learning curve in the beginning, in terms of how the system worked, who the suppliers, operators and B2B providers were, and what the licensing issues were. Today, he said, "we may be behind in terms of manager numbers, but not in their quality."

Looking ahead to 2023 and 2024, he said the sector needs to lighten administrative burdens, restrict the activity of illegal networks, and train and educate staff further, including to ensure certifications by the sector.

"We need continuous measurements, this must never stop," Papadopoulos said, calling for the setting up of specific benchmarks and performance indexes. In addition, collaborations on the domestic and international front must also be boosted, including with counterpart authorities in other countries and judicial authorities in Greece.

The HGA official pointed out that the areas that threaten progress in the online gaming sector are the issues of self-compliance, below-average social responsibility levels, and a more comprehensive communications policy with the public.

(Videotaped speeches of the conference participants are available at https://www.amna.gr/video-services/0/%CE%8C%CE%BB%CE%B1)