INSIGHT CROATIA MARKET REPORT ANĐELOVIĆ, SIKETIĆ & TOMIĆ LTD
Marko Tomic Partner, Anđelović, Siketić & Tomić Ltd (AST Law)
Croatian legislative framework for games of chance, consisting of the Act on Games of Chance, together with a set of bylaws regulating in more detail technical requirements or organisation of online gambling activities, remains unchanged since 2014. Te latest amendment to the same, which occurred in 2022, refers solely to the introduction of EURO as an official currency in the Republic of Croatia. Under the applicable law, games of chance in Croatia are classified into four groups: (i) lottery games (Croatian lottery Ltd has the exclusive right to provide lottery games), (ii) casino games, (iii) betting games, and (iv) slot machine games.
When it comes to the licensing regime, the Croatian government i.e. Ministry of Finance is the competent authority overseeing the system and granting licences. Te Government also determines the number of operators which may organise specific game of chance in the territory (e.g. 20 entities may obtain authorisation for casino games and 20 entities for betting games in Croatia).
Licences (approvals) are granted through a public tender for a 15-year term. Respective contract concluded between the parties (i.e. operator and the Ministry of Finance) can be terminated without cause with six months’ notice and, in case the same is terminated due to losses of the operator, with a 60-day notice. Granted licence in non-transferable.
In general, only entities with (i) a registered seat in Croatia, and (ii) licence to operate betting and/or casino games through their brick-and-mortar presence, may offer/operate casino and/or betting games through interactive sales channels of online gaming.
Licensing regime prescribes that any entity applying for the licence must:
l
Maintain a minimal registered share capital (€530.891,23 for casino and betting games operators and €265.445,62 for slot machine operators).
l
Hold a valid bank guarantee in the minimum amount of €199.084,21 for casino operators, €663.614,04 for betting operators and from €39.816,84 (for 30 machines) to €663.614,04 (for over 250 machines) for slot machine operators.
l
In case of the organisation of online casino/betting an additional bank guarantee in the minimum amount of €398.168,43.
Marko Tomic is a partner at Zagreb-based boutique Law Firm Anđelović, Siketić & Tomić Ltd (AST Law). He heads the corporate and commercial department with an emphasis on the gambling industry. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Zagreb and LL.M. in international business law from CEU in Budapest/Vienna.
www.ast-law.hr marko.tomic@
ast-law.hr
“Licences (approvals) are granted through a public tender for a 15-year term.
Respective contract concluded between the parties (i.e.
operator and the Ministry of Finance) can be terminated without cause with six
months’ notice and, in case the same is terminated due to losses of the operator, with a 60-day notice. Granted licence in non-transferable.”
Marko Tomic
Further to the above, each casino operator has the obligation to pay an annual fee in the amount of €66.361,40 for each casino (payable for a full year in case the casino is opened during the year) and in the amount of €398.168,43 for online casino. Betting operators pay an annual fee in the amount of €132.722,81 and €398.168,43 for online betting. Lastly, slot machine operators pay an annual fee of €1327,23 per slot machine.
In case that a certain entity organises more than one type of game of chance, the above amounts cumulate.
Furthermore, every entity applying to a public tender, in addition to the provision of standard corporate documents (e.g. registry excerpt of the applying entity and of its shareholder(s), AoAs and compete shareholders’ structure), must provide the Government with (i) the information on UBO of the applying entity as well as of its shareholder(s) which is a legal entity; (ii) certificate from the competent criminal record that there is no pending procedure against the management or supervisory board members nor against shareholders; (iii) evidence that there is no tax debt of any management or supervisory board member nor of the shareholder(s), issued in their country of residence and lastly (iv) a three year business plan of the operator.
As noted above, only operators holding a valid licence for organisation of landbased games of chance can apply for an “online licence”, whereby the casino operators are required to hold at least one brick-and-mortar casino in the territory while betting operators must employ at least 100 employees and at each moment have at least 50 opened betting shops.
Online operators must fulfil additional requirements when it comes to maintaining constant direct connection to servers of the Ministry of Finance, certification of games by independent laboratories, AML procedures regarding registration of players and structuring pay-in and pay-out transactions.
DISCLAIMER: Law Firm Anđelović, Siketić & Tomić d.o.o. wish to avoid inaccuracies and, whilst every precaution has been taken to ensure that information contained in this report is accurate, no liability is accepted for errors or omissions, however caused.
Operators are obliged to notify the Ministry about changes of any delivered information during the tendering procedure, especially on the change in management or supervisory board. In case of change of the shareholder structure within the operator, the operator must submit a complete set of documents as it was re-applying for the licence. Should this be the case, the Ministry reserves the right to review and revoke the issued licence.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86
