Macedonia To Block Foreign Sites

Macedonia is banning gambling on websites based outside the country and plans to block access to them. In their place the government is launching a state-run monopoly developed in partnership with Casinos Austria.

Macedonia’s government says it plans to block access to foreign gambling websites and is enlisting Casinos Austria to help it launch a state-controlled alternative.

“With the start of games organized by the State Video Lottery, institutions such as the Electronic Communications Agency and the Information Society Ministry will disable internet gambling and betting on world web sites for players at home,” a government spokesman said.

Casinos Austria will invest some €6 million to launch the online operation, of which the government will own 51 percent.

The government has not predicted how much money it plans to earn from its new monopoly and has not provided any information on the expected returns to Casinos Austria.