Principles & Operating Rules

By virtue of Resolution No 8/6/25.05.2012, the HGC adopted a set of general rules that should be govern its activities relating to its operation and the execution of its regulatory functions.

• Principles of regulatory functions:

a. Proportionality: The HGC must only intervene if necessary. All measures adopted must be appropriate to prevent the risk they address, and all costs they entail for the regulated entity must be justified.

b. Accountability: The HGC must justify its decisions and be subject to public scrutiny.

c. Consistency: The HGC must lay down regulatory with consistent provisions and requirements and demonstrate impartiality in their enforcement.

d. Transparency: The HGC must be honest, establish simple and clear regulatory frameworks and formulate them in such a way as to be easily understood by the users.

e. Commitment: The HGC must be committed to resolving problems and minimize the negative impact that its decisions are likely to have.

f. Social responsibility and empathy: In order to ensure responsible gaming, the HGC must be aware of and familiar with the needs of the public at large, and be in direct and open contact with the citizens, focusing primarily on vulnerable groups.

• General operating rules

a. Maximum utilization of available resources: The HGC must make full use of all human resources already available to the Greek State before seeking to acquire extra ones, so as to avoid increased costs both for the HGC and the State as a whole.

b. Effective utilization of resources: The HGC must acquire and use resources only to the extent that these serve its needs and allow its smooth operation.

c. Cost-effective management: The HGC must make all reasonable efforts to always improve its Return on Investment ratio.

d. Ex-ante control: The HGC must seek to have ex-ante controls carried out in order to ensure the legality of its expenditure. To that effect, the HGC was put, at its own request, under prudential supervision by the Supreme Court of Audit.

e. Prioritization of actions: Given that the HGC is getting organized for the first time, it must prioritize its activities in such a way as to serve the public interest in the most efficient manner.

f. Effective response: The HGC must address all citizen requests as fast and thoroughly as possible, by considering them on the merits and avoiding bureaucracy.