A bill to open up Slovenia’s online sports betting market has been defeated in Parliament.
The bill was designed to bring the country in line with provisions on online gaming from nations across the European Economic Community. The bill had passed the country’s lower house of Parliament, but the National Council Commission for Economy, Crafts, Tourism and Finance, part of the Parliament’s upper house, voted down the bill. The bill could resurface in the lower house, but would need a two-thirds majority to advance.
Slovenia’s sports betting market is controlled by one company, Sportna Loterija. Proponents of the bill argued that thee limited options for gamblers was forcing many players to unlicensed foreign betting sites. Branko Zorman, the member of Parliament who introduced the bill back argued that 85 percent of money generated through sports betting was leaving the country.
The bill also proposed the creation of a licensing system to include €500k annual licensing fees
However, social care representative Boris Šuštaršič introduced the veto, saying that the introduction of market liberalization would only increase jackpot funds and lower concession fees. Opponents said the bill was risky and may in fact threaten the funding provided to disability, sports and humanitarian organizations through the operations of Sportna Loterija, according to a report at CDC Gaming News.
