Gambling Industry Overview in Slovakia

Slovakia has been considered to be among the European countries that have quite lenient laws as far as the gambling affairs of the country are concerned. While the current issues are awaiting for officials' attention, Slovakia-based players are given the freedom to do take part in a wide range of gambling activities provided by foreign operators without being prosecuted for that. Slovakia casino sites are very popular among the people.

History of Gambling Regulation in Slovakia

Almost all forms of gambling activities have been legalized on the territory of Slovakia since independence when the country received a sovereign statute. During the time when it formed part of Czechoslovakia, all kinds of gambling activities were subject to tight control and heavy restrictions.

Country's lottery is Tipos, which is run by the government and regarded as the largest operator and provider of online betting services. Back that times, Tipos discontinued its operation in land-based venues. It received credit protection of the Bratislava 1 District Court but it is a well-known fact that it is facing tough competition coming predominantly from international operators.

Overview

Currently, the number of brick-and-mortar casinos on the territory of Slovakia exceeds 20 and each one features a decent number of gambling facilities. The other gambling options include lottery games, bookmakers, etc. Betting shops are widespread and local pubs, coffee shops and bars usually have slot machines available.

Fortuna SK is one of the leaders on the Slovakian gambling market. It runs more than 350 betting shops but is commonly recognized as a monopolist on the market. If players are not happy with the services provided, they have to select a foreign operator.

Zavodisko Bratislava is the largest racetrack in the country, located near the capital Bratislava.

Horse racing industry in Slovakia has long history. It dates back to the middle of the 19th century when the first hippodrome was established in Bratislava. Now, horse racing is type of betting activity commonly regarded as traditional. It is monitored by Turf Direktorium Für Die Slowakei and according to the latest data, the sector generates solid annual revenue.

The Gambling Act, which came into force, is the main piece of legislation all providers of gambling products should adhere to. It covers all prerequisites that need to be met, depending on the type of game the operator is willing to provide.

The utmost aim of the Gambling Act is to set clear and easy to follow rules and regulations related to the rights and duties of both operators and players. It also has the responsibility of monitoring all forms of gambling activities and supervising the gambling equipment.

The regulatory body in charge of the gambling affairs in Slovakia is the Gambling Committee, overseen by the Ministry of Finance. Its members have the authority of approving law amendments and implementing new gambling-related laws as well as issuing licenses. It seems like the latter is not among their top priorities as the number of licenses granted over the last couple of years is negligible.

The Finance Ministry has not granted a license to any fully operational online casino but it did enabled the national lottery to provide certain online gambling products, although their variety is quite limited.

Tipsport is the sole fully licensed online operator in Slovakia.

As reported earlier, Slovakia has been regarded as one of the countries where neither players nor operators are supposed to comply with tough restrictions. Yet, Slovakia gambling authorities decided to prosecute and therefore limit the negative impact of the unlicensed betting operators. However, the success of that campaign was sporadic as it attracted opponents and proponents, so residents are still allowed to place their bets at any preferred site.

In point of fact, Slovakian officials decided to withdraw their proposal related to the blocking of unlicensed betting operators. In other words, the system remained unchanged and Slovakian operators are not allowed to provide online gambling services, while the foreign ones are supposed to pay solid fees in order to be eligible for offering their products in Slovakia.

Due to the fact that Slovakian residents are enabled to place their bets wherever they want, there is a considerable number of operators trying to lure them by providing services in Slovakian language and adopting convenient payment methods that are widespread in the country.

Online Gambling

Conditions under which online gambling activities on the territory of Slovakia are provided are mentioned in sections 9 and 29 of the Slovakian Gambling Act. All activities of the online gambling operators are overseen by the Ministry of Finance. Operators are also supposed to pay tax equal to 27% of the difference between the payoffs and the amount of money generated through bets.

All operators need to have their servers in Slovakia as well.

Basically, online gambling is permitted but the fact that Slovakian gambling authorities have quite a conservative approach towards granting licenses, makes it impossible a poker site, bingo hall or sportsbook to be established and popularized. Yet, poker is gaining popularity in both formats online and traditional.

The lack of authorized online gambling operators also halts the development of the mobile gaming industry, although a significant number of players access foreign mobile casinos.