🇬🇷 Greece gambling license check

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Flat illustration of the Parthenon above white cube houses with the Greece outline

Greece licenses online gambling through Hellenic Gaming Commission, and every real HGC licence can be confirmed in the authority's public register. If a casino claims a Greece permit, the register linked below settles it in under two minutes.

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Hellenic Gaming Commission · HGC
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Search the official HGC register

How to verify a Greece license

  1. Open the HGC License Holders Register on certifications.gamingcommission.gov.gr
  2. Look for the casino's exact web address in the Website column, which lists one .gr domain per licence
  3. Check that the company named in the casino's terms matches the Company in the same row
  4. Confirm the IsValid column reads Ναι, which means valid, and that the Valid until date has not passed
  5. For a casino site, look for a Type 2 licence, since a Type 1 licence covers betting only
  6. Enter the address in the HGC Website Legality Check on hgc.gov.gr to see if it belongs to a licensed operator or sits on the Blacklist
  7. Click the HGC logo on the casino site, which licensed operators must link to an HGC page confirming their licence

License types in Greece

Online gambling in Greece needs an HGC licence of Type 1 for betting, Type 2 for casino games, live casino and poker, or both. The law reserves online gambling to the State, which exercises it through specially licensed providers, and a website run by anyone without a licence is prohibited. Land-based casinos hold separate licences, and OPAP S.A. and its group companies hold exclusive rights to the state lotteries, land-based betting, VLT machines and horse race betting.

  • Type 1 licence for online betting
  • Type 2 licence for other online games, including casino games, live casino and poker
  • Land-based casino licence
  • Exclusive rights held by the OPAP group for lotteries, land-based betting, VLTs and horse race betting

Key facts about the HGC regime

  • An online licence costs 3,000,000 euros for betting and 2,000,000 euros for other online games, plus a 10,000 euro application fee
  • Each online licence runs for seven years and can be renewed for another seven years against a new payment of the same price
  • Licences are personal and cannot be transferred, leased or shared with a third party
  • A licensed operator's gaming website must use a domain ending in .gr
  • The HGC said on its website that 18 licensed operators are authorised to offer online games of chance in Greece
  • Eight land-based casinos operate in Greece
  • The HGC Blacklist of unlicensed providers held more than 14,000 websites

What the license means for players

Greek law forbids licensed operators to let anyone under 21 play on their websites. At the first session the player must set a deposit limit, a loss limit and a time limit. An online player can take a 24 hour break, a temporary self-exclusion of at least one month or an indefinite self-exclusion that can be lifted only at the player's request after one year. Self-excluded players enter the HGC Register of Excluded Persons, which every licence holder must check before opening an account, so the exclusion applies across all licensed sites. Complaints about a licensed operator go to the HGC electronic complaints platform.

Red flags and fake HGC claims

  • The site uses a domain that does not end in .gr, which the HGC rules require for a licensed gaming website
  • The website is missing from the HGC License Holders Register even though the company name appears there
  • The register row for the site shows Όχι in the IsValid column or an expiry date in the past
  • The site offers casino games but holds only a Type 1 betting licence
  • The site accepts players under 21
  • The domain appears on the HGC Blacklist of unlicensed providers
  • The site shows no HGC logo linking to the HGC page that confirms its licence

Legal status and tax

Gambling in Greece is governed by Law 4002/2011 and supervised by the Hellenic Gaming Commission, an Independent Administrative Authority. Online betting and online casino games are legal only through operators holding an HGC licence. The HGC keeps a Blacklist of unlicensed websites, which Greek internet providers block through the HGC DNS server, and banks and payment institutions in Greece may not process payments to blacklisted providers. Anyone on the Blacklist cannot obtain a Greek gambling licence.

Under Article 50 of Law 4002/2011 the State takes 35% of the gross profit of every game of chance. Operators pay it within 16 days after the end of each month.

Frequently asked questions

Who regulates online gambling in Greece?

Hellenic Gaming Commission, usually shortened to HGC, oversees gambling in Greece. Online gambling in Greece needs an HGC licence of Type 1 for betting, Type 2 for casino games, live casino and poker, or both. The law reserves online gambling to the State, which exercises it through specially licensed providers, and a website run by anyone without a licence is prohibited. Land-based casinos hold separate licences, and OPAP S.A. and its group companies hold exclusive rights to the state lotteries, land-based betting, VLT machines and horse race betting.

How do I check if a casino holds a Greece license?

Open the official register on certifications.gamingcommission.gov.gr and search for the operator. The HGC License Holders Register is a public list that held 50 licences on two pages in October 2026. Each row shows the company, the licence number in the form HGC-000001-LH, the country of the company, the licence type, the website, the expiry date and a valid flag reading Ναι for yes or Όχι for no. Online betting and online casino are separate licences, so most online operators appear twice with the same website. The list can be filtered by licence number, but it shows neither brand names nor issue dates. A real licensee appears there under its own name.

What does a HGC license mean for players?

Greek law forbids licensed operators to let anyone under 21 play on their websites. At the first session the player must set a deposit limit, a loss limit and a time limit. An online player can take a 24 hour break, a temporary self-exclusion of at least one month or an indefinite self-exclusion that can be lifted only at the player's request after one year. Self-excluded players enter the HGC Register of Excluded Persons, which every licence holder must check before opening an account, so the exclusion applies across all licensed sites. Complaints about a licensed operator go to the HGC electronic complaints platform.

How do I spot a fake Greece license claim?

The site uses a domain that does not end in .gr, which the HGC rules require for a licensed gaming website The website is missing from the HGC License Holders Register even though the company name appears there The register row for the site shows Όχι in the IsValid column or an expiry date in the past The site offers casino games but holds only a Type 1 betting licence The site accepts players under 21 The domain appears on the HGC Blacklist of unlicensed providers The site shows no HGC logo linking to the HGC page that confirms its licence

Sources

Not sure how registers work in general? Read our guide to checking if an online casino is licensed or browse every jurisdiction we cover.