Greek betting monopoly OPAP had nine people in Arta, Greece, arrested for placing illegal Internet bets through foreign companies, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reports.
The paper said the suspects included the owners and customers of Internet cafes where computers had been installed with gaming software that enabled users to place bets directly with an unnamed British betting company.
"The only company with the right to operate betting in Greece is OPAP," the firm's president, Sotiris Kostakos, said. "Some people are getting rich unlawfully while the Greek state hemorrhages."
According to OPAP, the illegal betting market is equal in value to the legal one, or about 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion).
OPAP warned last month--after the arrest of an Athens man who was operating an affiliate site linked to five British gambling sites--that it would take legal action against similar agents as well as the bettors themselves.
British bookmaker William Hill on Friday applied to the Greek government for licensure to operate sports betting outlets in the country, challenging OPAP's monopoly. While OPAP has said it is confident that the Greek authorities will refuse the application, William Hill CEO David Harding said the company is prepared to take the case to the European courts if necessary.
"We believe the recent European cases mean that what is happening is in breach of EU law," Harding said. "If it is rejected we will go to the courts to argue our case and that could involve going to the European Court of Justice."