Brussels, 08/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 January (case T-58/13), the General Court of the EU ruled that the exclusive licence for the operation, until 2022, of 35,000 Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) and the exclusive rights to operate 13 games of chance by any means until 2030, which were granted by the Greek authorities to the national company which organises and operates games of chance and betting forms (OPAP) in return for a consideration (€560 million in the case of the VLT agreement and €375 million and a levy of 5% of gross gaming revenues , generated as regards the games of chance) do not constitute State aid which is incompatible with EU law.
Several casino operators challenged the Commission's decision of 2012 authorising Greece to grant these exclusive rights, on the grounds that this constituted State aid which conferred an advantage upon OPAP. Amongst other things, they argued that in the case of the VLT agreement, the Greek State would have been able to receive an amount higher than €560 million if it had granted more than one licence in the framework of a tendering procedure. They also criticised the Commission for having adopted its decision on the basis of additional commitments taken by the Greek State without opening formal investigation procedures and for incorrectly assessing the question of the existence of an advantage for OPAP, without having submitted detailed economic data on the case.
The General Court dismissed their actions on these grounds. Amongst other things, it finds that as the Commission's initial examination phase did not note any serious difficulties, and as it took note of the commitments of the Greek State, the institution had the power to adopt a decision concluding that there was no State aid, without being obliged to launch formal investigation procedures. It also concludes that the applicants' rights had been respected, as the omission of economic data did not prevent the casino operators from understanding the reasoning followed by the Commission, nor from challenging the decision in court. (FG)