Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has confirmed that online gaming and gambling will be the “next issue to look at” in a widening push to introduce age-related digital safeguards.
The comments, which are not the first on the topic, follow the administration’s headline proposal to prohibit social media access for under-15s, backed by mandatory age verification requirements for platforms from 1 January 2027. While the immediate focus is on social media, the direction of travel is towards forming a broader compliance perimeter around all digital products with youth exposure risks, including regulated betting and gaming.
In an interview with infokids.gr, Mitsotakis positioned gaming and online gambling, as well as artificial intelligence, as the logical next steps for the Greek government to take after social media controls, explicitly linking future interventions to enforcement gaps already observed in gambling.
He noted that while gambling is “typically prohibited under 21,” rules are being bypassed, particularly with the global rise of the unregulated market.
“It is being violated. Similar applications will also exist in online gambling, because now we can in legal gambling,” said Mitsotakis.
“You will tell me there is also illegal, yes. But the majority is legal. So, I think we now have the technological tools to put in place a framework for the protection of children and adolescents.
“And I repeat, we are not a paternalistic state, which can solve all the issues or interpersonal relationships between parents and children. But we are doing something that is important: we are now opening the conversation.
“We have a framework that can be implemented, but most importantly we are enabling parents to have this conversation with children, not from a position of weakness.”
The Greek PM also stressed that “we now have the technological tools” to enforce age restrictions, potentially pointing to a shift toward more rigorous security systems.
Greek bodies making efforts
Many bodies, including the government itself, have been steadfast in their attempts to ensure player protection in the gambling sector, which has been inundated with black market operators and illegal gambling rings.
The Hellenic National Committee on Bioethics and Technoethics recently highlighted that young people in the country are at too high a risk of gambling exposure and urged for governmental action.
Government data indicated that nearly 800,000 citizens engaged in illegal gambling in 2024, generating an estimated €1.67bn in turnover and depriving the state of approximately €400m in annual revenues, which has led to officials introducing a draft framework of “interventions required to strengthen the Greek state and economy against the threats of black market gambling”.
As part of the bill, the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) will have its workforce increased from 80 to 110 and higher quality direct digital intervention powers, hinted at in the aforementioned Mitsotakis interview, will be introduced.
Despite the clear issues with the black market and underage gambling in Greece, it is clear to see that the government is working at length to combat these tribulations.