Belarus Minister discusses online gambling
The official said that the Ministry does not forecast massive growth for online casinos in the country.
Belarus.- Deputy Tax and Duties Minister Vladimir Mukvich commented on the Decree 305, which legalised online gambling in the country, and said that the Ministry doesn’t expect massive growth in the online casinos sector in the near future.
Mukvich said that online gambling will be able to start operations starting from April 1st, 2019 when the decree’s regulations come into force, Belarus News reported. The Minister talked about potential companies operating in Belarus and said: ”We cannot say that there will be a large number of them in 2019-2020. We do not see any preconditions for such a trend.”
The Ministry is currently interested in preventing monopoly activity in the online gambling sector and expects applicants to meet the requirements for organizing online casinos. Mukvich said that player protection will be one of the key points of the regulatory scheme and that the law will include a certification of security systems: “This will be done not for minimizing the number of such facilities but providing maximum protection to players.”
The decree was signed earlier this month by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, who also increased the age limit to visit gambling establishments from 18 to 21 years. According to the highest authority in the country, the measure is set to minimise the harmful effects of gambling on young people.
