The parliament overrode the president’s veto and adopted the change with the help of some opposition MPs.
Gambling in Slovakia will follow new rules after the parliament overrode the president’s veto and adopted the new law on gambling.
This legislation redefines the structure and hierarchy of gambling licences. In addition, the Finance Ministry said it will increase the protection of gamblers, adding the rules for running gambling games on the Internet will also change, the SITA newswire reported.
The law was supported by some opposition MPs. As a result, a total of 86 deputies voted for the change.
What will change?
One of the most important changes is private domestic companies as well as companies from the European Union will be able to apply for online gambling licences. This concerns not only online betting games but also internet casinos, SITA wrote.
Until recently, the national lottery company Tipos had a monopoly on operating these games.
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Moreover, a new gambling regulatory authority will be established.
The law also introduces more measures to protect gamblers. For instance, the minimum number of gambling machines in one gambling house will increase to 15 machines. In addition, gambling in these houses will be banned between 3:00 and 10:00, as reported by SITA.
Increased powers for municipalities
Under the new rules, towns and villages are also allowed to ban some types of gambling games during a certain number of days during a year.
In addition, municipalities can now decide whether or not gambling houses should be situated near schools and kindergartens.
However, OĽaNO MPs think towns should get more powers to regulate gambling on their territories. They have also criticised a weak regulation of adverts promoting gambling, SITA wrote.
A group of mayors came to the parliament on January 29 to protest against the new law, as the public-service broadcaster RTVS reported.