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Internet gambling set to expand
Greek punters spend over Euro 8.5 billion a year on their passion for gambling, the Greek news medium Kathimerini reported this week, commenting that growing amounts are being spent on casinos, lotteries and illegal online gambling.
About Euro 3 billion will be spent in all of the country's nine casinos in 2007 while annual turnover booked by OPAP, one of the largest companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, is around the Euro 3.5 billion mark.
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Experts said that a combination of slick marketing campaigns and a shift in community values has fueled demand for gambling.
The number of visitors heading to casinos is expected to nearly double during the festive season. Data shows that the Loutraki casino, west of Athens, is visited by about 3 000 people daily but the figure shoots up to around 5 000 around Christmas.
Meanwhile, punters turning to illegal electronic gambling are spending almost Euro1.5 billion per year on their pastime.
Illegal betting on the Internet has been winning more fans as it offers better returns than OPAP and the opportunity to gamble on more than only one sports match, helping boost their chances of winning.
"The number of those who play [illegal games] is fewer than those who play the legal games, but the amounts that are bet are much larger," said a senior police source.
A large number of betting agency owners are allegedly helping support the increase in illegal electronic gambling by accepting debts from their trustworthy customers and then processing the bet themselves for a commission of up to 4 percent.
"One in 10 betting agency owners does this," the police source added.
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