Stanleybet International said it intends to reopen the Athens betting outlet closed down by municipal authorities last year within the next few days after an Athens court yesterday decided the bookmaker was entitled to continue its operations ahead of a court hearing due to take place later this month.

Liverpool-based bookmaker Stanleybet yesterday added Greece to the countries where it operates betting outlets - in a brazen challenge to the existence of an incumbent monopoly - provoking a predictable threat of legal action from the country’s sole betting operator OPAP.

The two reporting judges of the Greek Council of State have recommended that the Greek betting monopoly be referred to the European Court of Justice. In cases presented by betting operators Stanleybet International, William Hill and Betshop, the reporting judges examined the legitimacy of the OPAP monopoly, but put forward further questions for the ECJ to consider.

The long-term prospects for the Greek gambling monopoly OPAP were once again being questioned after it was reported late in December that the company’s position will soon come under fresh attack from the European Commission (EC).

The Greek gaming market is highly lucrative yet highly restricted, a combination which has seen the jurisdiction become the arena for high profile disputes between the state monopoly and various online operators.

Greece’s monopoly may not be privatised after all, despite speculation suggesting a sale of the 34 percent shareholding still in state hands.

Following the decision by local courts to allow Stanleybet’s betting shop to reopen pending a hearing to establish the legality the bookmaker’s actions, the Council of State is today set to examine appeals against the Greek state from both Stanleybet International and William Hill.

Bookmakers looking for good news from the Greek betting market have been presented with something positive from the most of unusual of sources, the Greek Football Federation.

GamblingCompliance spoke exclusively to Stanleybet International’s managing director John Whittaker about the legal difficulties the Liverpool-based bookmaker is continuing to experience in Italy, as well as the company’s plans for expanding into further European markets.

The EU’s executive body has threatened to fine Italy over its delayed retendering of 329 horserace betting licences, while the Commission has also begun a formal investigation into part state-owned gambling monopoly OPAP’s role in the awarding of a technology contract in Greece.