The National Assembly of Slovenia has been warned that “there are many more violations of online gambling” than previously assumed.
The warning came from the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (FURS) carrying out its annual inspection of gambling activities and licences.
The agency reported that “more and more online organisers are illegally organising games of chance in the field of gambling”.
As cited: “In order to organise games of chance in Slovenia, you must have a valid concession from the government. Violators are subject to fines in accordance with the Gambling Act of 1995.”
A subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance, FURS monitors Slovenian gambling activities, and stated that while it had observed 115 violations in 2023 by unlicensed online operators, it had submitted “34 actions against violators, who did not heed the warnings”.
Furthermore, the financial authority noted that 28 violators had continued to offer illegal services despite being issued cease and desist orders.
The National Assembly was warned that actions against unlicensed operators were limited as FURS had to obtain individual concessions from Administrative Courts to ISP blocks on infringing websites.
Under the Gambling Act of 1995, online licences can only be obtained by businesses domiciled in Slovenia that have been previously authorised for land-based gambling.
As such, Slovenia’s principal online gambling contract is operated by Športna Loterija, covering the activities of sportsbooks, pool-betting, virtual games, and bingo.
Last year, FTSE 100 Entain Plc withdrew a reported offer to acquire Športna Loterija from Slovenia’s Ministry of Finance.
The terms of the Gambling Act were last reviewed in 2018, in which the National Assembly rejected proposals to liberalise the market, bringing Slovenian gambling in line with EU competition rules.
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