The Slovak National Council recently voted to overrule President Andreja Kiska’s veto of legislation creating a new regulatory framework for gambling. The National Council approved the Gambling Act on December 4 but Kiska vetoed it two weeks later over concerns about self-exclusion, gambling tax revenue allocation and other aspects of the bill, which covers new rules and regulations for online and land-based gambling in Slovakia.
The bill, composed by the Slovak Ministry of Finance, now can become law. It emphasizes consumer protection measures, reflecting gambling regulation in other European Union markets like Denmark, Sweden, Romania and the Czech Republic. The European Gaming and Betting Association recently had cited Slovakia and other EU nations for lacking adequate consumer protection regulations.
The act will open the Slovakian online gambling market to private operators, with license applications available March 1 and the re-regulated market open on July 1. Fixed-odds betting licenses would be available starting July 1, but successful applicants could not offer services in Slovakia until July 2020. All licenses would be valid for 10 years.
The act also limits the number of gaming machines to 15 per gambling establishment and all machines must be from the same supplier. Gambling venues may not operate within 200 meters of schools or medical facilities. Also, bars and restaurants may not offer gambling on-premise.
A new office responsible for regulating the gambling sector, funded by gambling tax revenue, will be created within the Ministry of Finance.
