Judgment of the General Court of 8 January 2015 — Club Hotel Loutraki and Others v Commission
(Case T-58/13) 1
(State aid — Operation of Video Lottery Terminals — Grant by the Hellenic Republic of an exclusive licence — Decision finding no State aid — Failure to initiate the formal investigation procedure — Serious difficulties — Procedural rights of the interested parties — Obligation to state reasons — Right to effective judicial protection — Advantage — Joint assessment of the notified measures)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicants: Club Hotel Loutraki AE (Loutraki, Greece); Vivere Entertainment AE (Athens, Greece); Theros International Gaming, Inc. (Patra, Greece); Elliniko Casino Kerkyras (Athens); Casino Rodos (Rhodes, Greece); Porto Carras AE (Alimos, Greece); Kazino Aigaiou AE (Syros, Greece) (represented by: S. Pappas, lawyer)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: M. Afonso and P.-J. Loewenthal, acting as Agents)
Interveners in support of the defendant: Hellenic Republic (represented by: E.-M. Mamouna and K. Boskovits, acting as Agents); and Organismos Prognostikon Agonon Podosfairou AE (OPAP) (Athens, Greece) (represented: initially by K. Fountoukakos-Kyriakakos, Solicitor, L. Van den Hende and M. Sánchez Rydelski, lawyers, and subsequently by M. Petite and A. Tomtsis, lawyers)
Re:
Application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2012) 6777 final of 3 October 2012 on State aid SA.33988 (2011/N) — Greece — Arrangements for the extension of OPAP’s exclusive right to operate 13 games of chance and the granting of an exclusive licence to operate 35 000 Video Lottery Terminals for a period of 10 years.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Dismisses the action;
Orders Club Hotel Loutraki AE, Vivere Entertainment AE, Theros International Gaming, Inc., Elliniko Casino Kerkyras, Casino Rodos, Porto Carras AE and Kazino Aigaiou AE to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission and the Organismos Prognostikon Agonon Podosfairou AE (OPAP);
Orders the Hellenic Republic to bear its own costs.
________________________1 OJ C 114, 20.4.2013.