Slovakia approves new online gambling rules

The parliament approved plans to strike down the online monopoly and open the market.

Slovakia.- Slovakia’s parliament approved on Tuesday new gambling regulations for the online segment. The bill had been submitted in July to the European Commission by the government of Slovakia.

The bill, which is waiting on the president’s signature, would open the online gambling market to international operators that wish to apply for local licences. The law establishes that the applications will start being accepted on March 1, 2019, and approvals will be issued starting July 1, 2019. Online sports betting applications will be accepted from July 1, 2019, but even if they get accepted operations won’t start until July 1, 2020.

Both casino licences and online sports betting licences will cost €3 million, but the new regime will offer the chance of reducing that number to €2 million if operators are interested in applying for both licences. Those who apply for both will be given licences for five years with an option to extend for an additional five year term, while other licences will be valid for 10 years.

Moreover, the new regime sets that international operators that apply for online licences must establish a relationship with a local representative in order to serve as a liaison with the government.

The Slovakian government is set to create a new Office for Regulation of Gambling as part of the new regulations that were approved by the parliament. The new body is expected to take on the role that the Ministry of Finance currently performs.