Greece HGC online licence: costs, tax and requirements in numbers

Greece in five numbers

If you only need the headline figures, here they are. Everything else on this page explains where they come from and what sits behind them.

Headline figures for Greek online licences (checked September 2026)

The legal path from 2011 to permanent licences

Greece first opened its online market with Law 4002/2011, but for most of the following decade operators ran on transitional permits. Law 4635/2019 rewrote the online chapter, introduced the two permanent licence types and handed licensing, supervision and enforcement to the HGC (in Greek, EEEP).

The detailed operating rules, from player accounts to technical standards, sit in the HGC's Regulation for the Conduct of Online Games and its technical specifications. Permanent licensing began in October 2019, and the HGC's current work plan for 2026 to 2030 focuses on enforcement against illegal sites, including faster detection of new gambling domains with the telecoms regulator.

Type 1 versus Type 2: which one do you need?

Type 1 is the betting licence; Type 2 covers casino games and poker. A group offering both a sportsbook and a casino needs both, which puts the combined entry fee at €5 million.

• Type 1 (betting): betting on real events of any kind, fantasy sports, virtual events driven by a random number generator and other events that lend themselves to betting.
• Type 2 (casino and poker): casino games in RNG and live dealer formats, plus poker and its variants, including peer-to-peer games and tournaments.
• Not allowed: betting exchanges are expressly prohibited under Greek law.

The HGC is expected to decide within two months of receiving a complete application, provided the applicant meets the conditions on technical capability, financial standing, fit-and-proper status, guarantees and fee payment.

What the HGC checks before granting a licence

The review is broad: company, people, money and systems. Only capital companies may apply, and the HGC looks through to ultimate beneficial owners.

1. Corporate form and paid-up share capital of at least €200,000.
2. Fit-and-proper checks on shareholders, directors and key staff.
3. Financial capacity, a business plan and the €500,000 letter of guarantee.
4. Information security, typically evidenced with ISO 27001, and a certified gaming system with certified random number generators.
5. Responsible gaming, KYC and anti-money-laundering policies aligned with Greek AML law.
6. A technical set-up that feeds the HGC's real-time monitoring of transactions.

The 35% tax in practice

Greece taxes online operators at 35% of gross gaming revenue, one of the highest rates in the EU. Under Law 4389/2016, 34.5 points go to the State and 0.5 points fund the HGC.

To see the effect, take a casino with €1 million of monthly GGR: €350,000 goes in gaming tax before payment costs, content royalties, marketing and corporate tax. Player winnings are taxed separately and withheld by the operator under Greek income tax rules, which also affects how you communicate pay-outs to players. Compare this with Spain's 20% on net income in our DGOJ guide.

Getting the game portfolio through Greek approval

In Greece, the HGC certifies the technical means used to run online games and licenses suppliers of gaming and technical equipment. Before you sign with any content provider, ask whether the studio holds the Greek supplier approval the HGC requires, and whether each game build has been certified for Greece.

Live content needs the same diligence: Type 2 covers live dealer games, and Greek players expect them. Studios such as Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live and Ezugi are familiar names in regulated European markets; check each one's Greek certification rather than assuming it.

On the integration side, a casino game aggregator API with per-game metadata (category, studio, currencies, market) lets you keep a Greek lobby limited to the titles you are cleared to offer, while a country parameter at launch applies studio restrictions automatically. Real-money and demo sessions are launched separately (getGameDemo for demo), EUR is native, and one seamless wallet serves the live casino API as well as slots. A Type 1 licensee can plug the sportsbook API into the same wallet. Catalogue and currencies change continuously; the live list is in the API.

Protecting Greek players

• Mandatory player limits on deposits and play, with reality checks during sessions.
• Self-exclusion that the operator must honour across its products.
• Identity verification and age checks (21+ for online gambling in Greece).
• Advertising rules and a licensing regime that also covers affiliates promoting online gambling.
• Blocking of illegal gambling domains and payment channels by the HGC.

Is Greece worth the entry ticket?

Greece rewards operators with strong brands and the capital to wait out the payback on a €2-5 million fee under a 35% tax. It is a harder case for smaller brands. Those comparing euro markets should also read our Portugal SRIJ guide and the full licence overview.

This guide is general information, not legal advice; use Greek counsel before applying.

Greek licence questions from operators

Sources and last update

Fees and licence scope come from Law 4635/2019 as summarised by CMS; tax from Law 4389/2016; capital and guarantee requirements from published law-firm summaries of HGC rules.

• Law 4635/2019 (online gaming chapter), amending Law 4002/2011
• Law 4389/2016, article 56 (35% GGR tax and its split)
• CMS Expert Guide to Online Gambling Regulation in Europe, Greece chapter, updated April 2023
• Legal500 Country Comparative Guide, Greece: Gambling Law (capital and guarantee requirements)
• Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) website and 2026-2030 strategic plan coverage, checked September 2026

Last reviewed: 24 September 2026.