Slovenia Prepares to Amend Gambling Legislation

The gaming and betting industry in Slovenia will soon see a new Gaming Act which will amend several aspects regarding the way in which the industry is overseen. Hence, land based and online casinos in the European country will soon be supervised by a new regulatory body that will report directly to the Finance Ministry starting next year. The Slovenian government has already submitted a draft proposal which will be brought forward to the European Commission.

The draft will include a series of regulatory measures to ban and fine unlicensed operators in the country and a series of several restrictions regarding financial transactions with illicit sites and ISP blocking. The proposal is also said to ensure that the state will retain the national lottery and at least 30 licenses for operators who seek to start land based casinos will be awarded. The Slovenian gambling industry attracts a significant number of visitors from neighboring countries, Italy being one of the markets which are targeted. Despite the fact that many casino operators are looking forward to start land based casinos in under-developed gaming markets like South America or South East Asia, European operators are starting to gain benefits from European Union’s efforts to create more compact gambling regulatory frameworks across member states.