Answer: POEPPP opposes OPAP
UNION OF OPAP AGENTS SA
PREFECTURES OF THESSALONIKI & CHALKIDIKI
ΑΠ: 8 / 18.01.17
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ΠΟΕΠΠΠ
Dear gentlemen,
As you already know, on Monday, January 23, 2017 at 12:00 in the "Vellideio Conference Center" OPAP invites the agents in order to inform them about its new business policy.
We would like you to inform us what actions the Federation will take regarding the above meeting, if for example,
β ?? ' The President Mr. Toptsidis will be present in Thessaloniki in order to attend the said meeting.
β ?? ' There is a possibility that he will arrive earlier or stay after the meeting in order to inform the Associations that will be in Thessaloniki about the positions of POEPPP.
β ?? ' An informative text will be drafted with the positions of POEPPP in order to be distributed to the agents before the start of the meeting.
β ?? ' There will be some form of protest of the agents (banners, etc.) outside Vellideio.
Our Union intends to assist in any way (availability of our offices for information, distribution of printed information material of the Federation, etc.) to the efforts of the Federation to inform its colleagues correctly and in a timely manner.
We are waiting for your information on the above or any other actions.
For the Union
Anastasia Tzabazli - President
Dimitrios Grammatikopoulos - Secretary
TO THE GAMES SUPERVISION AND CONTROL COMMITTEE
Notification
1. POEPPP
2. EPOTHX
17.01.2017
Dear gentlemen,
Attached to this is a Memorandum related to the "New Regulation of OPAP Agents SA" and the contracts between OPAP and agents.
Please, after reading the above memo carefully, answer the following:
1. Why should the already signed contracts between us agents and OPAP be replaced with new ones and not just be amended so that they are in line with the New Regulation and the principles of EEEP?
2. What is the benefit of your independent authority (EEEP) in terms of game control and supervision, from the abolition of the existing contract and the signing of a completely new contract?
Hoping for your prompt reply to my questions or to my personal mail:
[email protected], or in the mail of "EPOTHX":
[email protected].
Thanks in advance for your interest.
Sincerely,
Anastasia Tzabazli
OPAP agent
MEMORANDUM
By Anastasia Tzampazli, OPAP agent (code 229064), resident of Thessaloniki, 91 Oreokastrou Street, no. 56491, Stavroupoli.
TO
The independent administrative authority with the "COMMITTEE OF SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF GAMES" - (EEEP) based in Athens (17 Acharnon) and legally represented.
Thessaloniki 17-1-2016
As it is known, it has been published in the Official Gazette Issue B no. 3923 / 7-12-2016 the decision no. 229/2 / 18-11-2016 of EEEP entitled "REGULATION OF OPAP AGENTS SA ».
Article 11 thereof, under the heading TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS, provides:
"11.1 The operator must adapt to the provisions of this decision within ninety (90) days from its publication in the Government Gazette.
11.2 Within a reasonable period of time from the publication of this decision and in any case within twenty-four (24) months, and provided that the provisions of paragraph 11.1 are met, the agents already operating agencies must be relocated to a place that meets the requirements of article 6 hereof, in accordance with the specific timetables and commercial policy of the operator. For this purpose and in order to comply with this provision, the operator will provide a relevant provision with the obligation to relocate the agent to the agency contract. In case of non-compliance of the agent, the operator will be obliged to terminate the agency contract after the lapse of twenty four (24) months, otherwise the relevant agency contract is terminated automatically and ceases to have any validity. 11.3 Until the termination of the existing contracts in any way, at the publication of this, the operator and the agent may exercise the rights deriving from the existing contracts.
11.4 Matters not provided for in this Regulation shall be governed by the agency agreement between the operator and the agent. "
From the above it becomes clear that there is a provision in the above decision b ???? New Regulation of OPAP Agents for the abolition of the termination of the "already existing contracts", ie the Individual Contracts from 28-9-2009 that each OPAP agent has signed with OPAP SA. and the text of which is common to all agents and has in fact come after consultations and a joint agreement between OPAP SA. and Agents.
It should not be overlooked the fact that the existing contracts have been in force for seven years, they have fully covered every emerging issue in the relations between OPAP and OPAP SA agents. and have produced legal rights and effects on both sides.
Nevertheless, it is clear from the text of the Regulation that the current OPAP agents will be invited to sign a new contract with OPAP SA. , with content unknown to them so far and which new contract will contain at least the provisions of the new regulation.
As it is understood, these new agreements will be accession agreements as their text and the agreements that will be contained in it will be defined exclusively by OPAP SA. and none of the OPAP agents of both the incumbent and the prospective agents will have any other option but to sign or not the new contracts.
However, the already existing from 28-9-2009 Individual Contract between OPAP SA. and Agents should be the basis for the new contracts after the necessary amendments in order for its text to contain the changes of the new Agents Regulation.
And this is self-evident as it has already operated successfully for a number of years and a legal status has already been established between OPAP and Agents which can not and should not be violently overthrown. On the contrary, the purpose is to harmonize the text of the existing Individual Contract with the spirit of the new Regulation.
Thus, briefly, indicatively and briefly in Article 1 under the title "Object of the Contract" the four types of agencies can be included, in Article 3 under the title "Agent Statements and Certificates" the agency manager can be added and in the text defined the conditions that must be met in the persons of both (agent and responsible agency) in order to have these qualities, in Article 4 under the title "Activity store" new distances can be added depending on the types of agencies and the area in which they operate, in Article 20 under the heading "Transfer or conversion of an agent company" may include the new data on the formation of legal entities and remain the fixed position of agents on the possibility of transfer of their agency and so on.
After all, in the already existing article in article 2 entitled "fundamental principles" there is already an explicit provision for the protection of Greek society from gambling addiction, the prevention of fraud, the suppression of crime and the money laundering, the protection of minors and the protection of the consumer, principles and concepts which are preserved by the independent administrative authority with the decisions it issues.
It follows from the above that there is no need to draft new contracts from the beginning, but it is enough to modify the existing one, which will include in its text the provisions of the New Regulation.
Finally, with regard to the new regulation, there are at least four points that need to be amended, which are as follows:
Article 1: To delete the words "as indicative of the commercial and financial terms of cooperation with the agents" from the definition of the commercial policy of OPAP SA, as the main object of the Regulation is not to refer to the commercial policy of OPAP SA but mainly in protecting the consumer public from gambling addiction. Especially for the supplies, the provision of the already existing contract is correct.
Article 5.2: To clarify with the adoption of a new directive of the EEEP the concept of co-location and internal connection of the agencies regarding the type A 'and C' agencies.
Article 5.3.4: Replace the paragraph as follows: "5.3.4. The above restrictions of paragraphs 5.3.2.1 to 5.3.2.5 and paragraph 5.3.3 do not apply to the agencies that operate at the time of publication and have a distance less than the above minimum from other agencies of the same type. The existing shorter distances from other agencies of the same type apply to these agencies, even in the case of the first since the publication of their current relocation, subject to the prior approval of their relocation by the operator ".
Article 11.2. Replace the paragraph as follows: "Within a period of twenty-four (24) months from the publication of this decision and provided that the provisions of paragraph 11.1 are met, agents already operating agencies must be relocated to a location that meets the requirements of Article 6. of this. In the event that the above period of time has elapsed without action, for the agents who will not be relocated, the provisions of paragraphs 9.3.17 and 9.3.18 will not apply ".
Finally, additionally according to par. 9.3.16 "the rights deriving from the agency contract b ?? ¦ are non-transferable", ie the transfers are abolished except those mentioned in the next par. 9.3.17 (spouse, descendants, etc.) and in fact in article 12 the validity of the Regulation starts from its publication in the Official Gazette on 7-12-2016. As previously stated in accordance with paragraph 11.3 "until the termination of the existing contracts in any way, the body and the agent may exercise the rights deriving from the existing contracts", ie as long as the existing contracts are not terminated or terminated to apply. Thus, the position of OPAP that from 7-12-2016 onwards, transfers are prohibited is contrary to the spirit and the letter of the new Regulation.
The above amendments to the New Regulation in combination with the amendment of the already existing contracts and not the signing of new ones with a text that will be "imposed" by OPAP SA. to the agent and will not be the result of negotiation between them, are deemed necessary in order for there to be a smooth transition from the current legal status to the new one that is being attempted to be formed with the issuance of the Agents Regulation.
GS RESOLUTION
A. REGULATION-CONTRACTS.
a) To intervene in the EEEP with a meeting and a memorandum for the change of unfavorable provisions in the Regulations of agents with a predetermined date, for the changes.
b) The changes that will be made, to be discussed in the Board. and consult the unions.
c) If the changes in the regulation are not considered satisfactory by the bodies of the branch, the POEPPP is authorized to take all legal actions to abolish the unfavorable regulations of the regulation.
d) NO AGENT SHOULD SIGN NEW CONTRACTS, unless it has been first informed by POEPPP with an announcement.
Efforts should be made to harmonize the contract with the regulation, where required, and to implement it by adding an annex to existing contracts.
NOTE: The above A was voted unanimously