Slovakia eyes illegal gambling sites

The Financial Administration started a crackdown on illegal gambling sites and will release a list of banned sites later this month.

Slovakia.- A list of banned sites is expected to be released on July 17, as the Financial Administration of Slovakia announced a new focus to eye illegal gambling sites operating in the country.

The crackdown began on July 1 after the country adopted a new legislation, as The Slovak Spectator said. Finance Ministry State Secretary Radko Kuru was cited by the TASR newswire saying that the global gambling market has developed dynamically in recent years. “Legislation has reacted to an expansion of gambling in virtual space and has brought new challenges in terms of supervision,” he added.

The Financial Administration is set to search for sites with gambling activities that are in violation of the law, and then they will call them to force them to shut down their services. The sites will be placed on a blacklist if they don’t comply with the orders in the period of time stipulated by Slovak laws. Spokeswoman Patrícia Macíková announced that the Administration would ask the court for an injunction to block the gambling sites and transactions if they still don’t do as they’re told. Authorities could impose fines as high as US$570k for running the illegal sites.

Back in February, it was announced that the gambling industry could be totally banned in Slovakia’s capital city Bratislava. Seventeen councils expressed their concern about the implementation, as representatives from the city commented that a shutdown would only lead to illegal gambling and the government should regulate the sector with strict rules instead. A total ban on gaming activities in Bratislava was supported by more than 136k residents and 45 councillors. On the contrary, the seventeen officials proposed a legal but limited industry in touristic hotels and venues, imitating the model of Vienna and Budapest.