Greek police raid Stanleybet outlet at OPAP's behest

(ATHENS) - Police in Athens have raided an outlet of UK-based sports betting group Stanleybet barely a week after it opened to challenge state gambling operator OPAP, the police said on Friday alleging illegal betting.

The raid in the central Athens outlet was held after a complaint by OPAP.

Two people were arrested -- one of whom was later released -- and the police said they confiscated machinery and more than 5,500 euros (7,000 dollars) in cash.

The police said that the Stanleybet outlet "conducted illegal betting...without a permit from the appropriate authorities...aiming to make monetary gain at the expense of the Greek state."

OPAP has had control over betting in Greece since 1996 and is one of the country's few profitable public companies.

But Stanleybet, which has more than 1,400 outlets in Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Poland, says it has a "legal right" to provide services in the European Union under EU law and prior European Court of Justice rulings.

OPAP threatened to take legal action against the UK-based sports betting group after it opened two outlets in Athens and Salonika last month.

"The company will defend the rights (arising) from its contract with the Greek state in every legal manner," it said.

Greece is a dynamic gambling market, with Greeks forking out several billion euros a year on football bets and lotteries, in casinos and at the racetrack, according to press reports.