Greece Faces Debate Over Youth Exposure to Betting

Greece Faces Debate Over Youth Exposure to Betting

Public discussion around youth exposure to gambling has intensified in Greece following a report from the Hellenic National Committee on Bioethics and Technoethics. The advisory body has called for additional safeguards designed to reduce the likelihood that minors encounter betting products before reaching the legal age.

The committee’s analysis focuses on how the expansion of online gambling has altered the environment in which betting services appear. Over recent years, gambling operators have shifted much of their activity toward digital platforms, including mobile applications and browser-based services. For adults, this transition has simplified access to licensed betting markets. For policymakers, however, the same shift has introduced new questions about how younger audiences interact with gambling content in digital spaces.

Members of the committee argue that the structure of many online gambling platforms resembles forms of entertainment already familiar to adolescents. Features such as interactive interfaces, shared play environments, and reward-based systems are common across both gaming and betting platforms. While these similarities do not necessarily indicate that minors are directly participating in gambling, the report suggests they may make gambling products appear less distinct from other forms of online entertainment.

The report describes how teenagers frequently navigate digital environments where multiple types of content overlap. Video streaming, social media, and multiplayer games often occupy the same devices and applications. Within these settings, betting-related material may appear through advertising, sponsorships, or promotional partnerships associated with sporting events. According to the committee, this environment can blur the boundaries between watching sport, engaging with digital media, and encountering gambling promotions.

Sports broadcasting remains one of the areas where gambling brands maintain a visible presence. Advertising during televised matches and sponsorship agreements involving professional teams have become part of the modern sports economy in many European countries. The report notes that such arrangements create a link between sports culture and betting services that is visible not only to adult viewers but also to younger audiences who follow sporting events.

Digital media adds another layer to this visibility. Online video platforms and social networks distribute sports content, commentary, and highlights to large audiences, including teenagers. Betting advertisements may appear within these environments alongside other forms of entertainment content. As the report notes, this distribution model makes it difficult to control precisely when and where gambling promotions are displayed.

Another factor identified by the committee concerns the ease with which gambling services can now be accessed through personal devices. Smartphones and personal computers allow users to connect to online betting platforms at any time. For licensed operators, this accessibility is accompanied by identity verification systems intended to prevent underage participation. However, the report notes that unlicensed platforms may not apply the same safeguards.

In this context, the committee draws attention to evidence suggesting that gambling activity among young people may be increasing. Data compiled by the National Organisation for the Prevention and Treatment of Addictions indicates that the number of young adults seeking treatment for gambling-related problems has grown in recent years. Between 2022 and 2025, the number of individuals aged 18 to 25 seeking assistance rose several times over.

While those figures refer to adults who have already reached the legal gambling age, researchers consider them relevant when examining earlier exposure to betting products. The committee also points to international studies suggesting that Greece records relatively high participation in gambling activities among 16-year-olds when compared with several other European countries.

Greek law sets the legal gambling age at 21, a threshold intended to reduce the likelihood of early participation in betting activities. Despite this restriction, the report suggests that digital access and widespread marketing may still bring minors into contact with gambling services in indirect ways. For policymakers, this raises questions about how regulation should respond to an environment where betting platforms and entertainment media increasingly share the same digital space.

The committee proposes several policy directions intended to reduce the visibility of gambling content among younger audiences. One suggestion concerns the timing and placement of advertising. Regulators could examine broadcast schedules and digital distribution patterns to identify periods when teenage audiences are likely to be watching sports programming. Adjusting the timing or frequency of gambling advertisements during those periods could reduce the exposure of minors to betting promotions.

Another recommendation focuses on strengthening oversight of advertising practices. The committee suggests that the national regulator, the Hellenic Gaming Commission, could coordinate an industry-wide framework to reinforce standards for marketing and sponsorship. Such a system would rely on cooperation between regulators and licensed operators to establish guidelines that address how gambling services appear in sports and digital media.

Verification systems also form part of the discussion. The report proposes linking the registration process for online betting accounts with the government’s secure identification infrastructure. This approach could make it more difficult for underage users to create accounts using incorrect or incomplete personal data.

Financial tools used to fund online betting accounts are also mentioned in the analysis. The committee encourages the Ministry of Finance to examine whether anonymous prepaid payment cards should face additional restrictions, since such instruments can sometimes be obtained without detailed identity verification.

These recommendations arrive at a moment when the Greek government is already considering legislative measures aimed at addressing illegal gambling operations. Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis recently presented draft legislation intended to strengthen enforcement against unauthorised gambling services operating in the country.