The Online Gambling Regulations in Croatia Compared to Other European Countries

Online gambling is legal and there are many regulated online casinos in Croatia. Still, if you ever wondered how online gambling regulations in Croatia compare to the rest of Europe, we will discuss that today. This article will examine Croatian gambling laws and juxtapose them to gambling laws found in other European countries.

Croatian Online Gambling Laws and Regulations

Croatia is a gambling-friendly nation that allows many different types of gaming. Croatian citizens and visitors can partake in legal lottery, bingo, land-based casino gambling and sports betting. Players can also legally gamble online by registering for an online casino or sportsbook.

Croatia has a free market approach to gambling, meaning that it allows for private gambling operators to conduct business in the country. The only exception to that rule is the lottery which can only be provided by the state-run company Hrvatska Lutrija (Croatian Lottery Ltd.).

Let’s get into more detail about the laws and regulations guarding online gambling in Croatia. Croatian players could play at unregulated online sites in the past, but the government sought to change that by explicitly legalising and regulating online gambling for anyone over the age of 18. Only fantasy sports remain unregulated.

In July 2009, the Croatian government passed the Act on Games of Chance, or the supreme gambling law in the country, which gave permission to the Croatian Lottery Ltd. to run games of chance, but it also opened the door for private gambling operators to conduct business in Croatia if they have a Croatian gambling license.

A year later, in July 2010, Croatia passed four more ordinances, pertaining to the Act, which outlined the specific regulations governing gambling in the country: Ordinance on Interactive Online Casino Gaming, Ordinance on Organizing Remote Betting Games, Ordinance on Lottery Games and Ordinance on Obtaining License for Work in Casino.

According to the Act and its applicable Ordinances, private businesses can apply for a gambling licence from the Ministry of Finance (the main gambling regulatory body) for a period of 15 years. However, the application process is rigorous and operators must comply with many regulations.

Only businesses with registered offices and land-based casinos and/or sportsbooks in Croatia may apply for a remote gambling licence. Additionally, the business must have capital exceeding €530,891 for betting and €265,445.62 for casino gaming. Operators must also keep player funds at Croatian banks and have a certain number of employees.

These regulations severely impact the legal online gambling industry of Croatia because they essentially ban foreign-based operators from offering their products in the country. Moreover, the most popular online casino sites don’t have brick-and-mortar venues.

While Croatian players can gamble at offshore casinos without fear of legal persecution, the Ministry of Finance can ask casino sites to restrict their access to Croatian IP addresses, and many famous operators have such restrictions.

Comparison Between the Gambling Laws of Croatia and the Rest of Europe

Online gambling in Croatia might be legal, but there’s obviously more to be desired. Due to the strict regulations in place, there are currently few online casinos and sportsbooks licenced and regulated by the Ministry of Finance. This leaves Croatian players with little choice, so many gamblers play at offshore casinos and sportsbooks.

If Croatia wants to curb the channelisation to unregulated online casinos/sportsbooks and boost its tax revenue, it can adopt more gambling-friendly policies that allow foreign-based businesses to operate in the country.

Take Malta for example. The small nation previously mainly relied on tourism for the majority of its GDP, similar to Croatia, but once it relaxed its gambling laws, it attracted businesses from all over Europe. The Malta Gaming Authority currently regulates over 300 gambling operators, and the country generates an estimated annual profit of €2.6 billion from gambling.

Meanwhile, countries such as Sweden, France, and Germany are struggling to attract new online gambling operators because of their strict regulations which include low deposit and wagering limits, as well as bans on certain games and bonuses.

This also dissuades their citizens from playing at regulated sites. Worrying reports have shown that unregulated gambling has grown tenfold in Sweden since 2019. Meanwhile France estimates that its illegal gambling market is worth north of €1.5 billion, while research has noted that three-quarters, or 75%, of all online gambling in Germany is illegal.

Croatia can either follow countries with successful online gambling markets like Malta and the United Kingdom, both of which pursue and licence foreign-based operators under fair conditions, or not change anything and see itself become another France or Germany.

Conclusion

Overall, although Croatia has a legal online gambling market, the requirements that prospective gambling operators must satisfy are too many and too strict. If Croatia means to profit off its legal industry, it should instead adopt laws that boost business participation like Malta.

Good news is that the Croatian government has already signalled an interest in updating its laws, so we might soon have to talk about Croatia as a new gambling haven for European online players and gambling providers.

FAQ

Thank you for reading our article on Croatian gambling regulations and the comparison with those from other European countries. Below you can also find the most common questions on the topic: