Slovenia rejects sports betting law

The National Assembly rejected the amendment on gambling that would have liberalised the sports betting market.

Slovenia.- The National Assembly of Slovenia has rejected the amendment of the gambling law on sports betting by 35-26. The bill was prepared by Branko Zorman (SMC), who withdrew from the party after the vote as he believes that the party is not sufficiently democratic.

While the bill was endorsed by 35 deputies and rejected by 26, it was not enough to re-confirm after the National Council’s veto. The proposal sought the protection of Slovenian players who bet with foreign organisers and are not protected under Slovenian authorities. The government rejected the draft law as it considers that the proposal only provides partial solutions in the betting field, while the country needs comprehensive solutions based on previous analysis, which are necessary to comply with European legislation.

Deputy PM Branko Zorman withdrew from the SMC due to the fall in the amendment. As he said to local media, the members of the party contributed to the law’s fall, and that the party is no longer the one he entered four years ago. “Today some members of this party have supported this systemic corruption in the financing of sports,” he said.

Zorman said that the adoption of the law would eliminate the systemic anomaly that suffers from sufficient financing of sports and prevent the normal functioning of sports organisations, contribute to additional revenues for humanitarian and disability organisations, and expressed disagreement with systemic corruption that prevails in this area.