Following a decision to move casinos out of cities, Albania is now imposing a ban on sports wagering and other forms of gambling, which comes into force on January 1, 2019. In a Thursday vote, the Parliament passed a law prohibiting betting shops, slot machines parlors, and online gambling.
The legislation was approved by 75 votes from members of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party, with no votes against the move as the opposition boycotted the session. The law bans all casinos, sports betting shops, racebooks and other gaming facilities from operating within residential areas, Tirana Times reported late on Thursday. The gambling industry is effectively limited to tourist areas and five-star hotels.
The legal changes were introduced earlier this month but have not been turned into law until yesterday. Starting January 1, all casinos, sports betting shops and any facilities with slot machines and other forms of gambling will have to close or relocate to non-residential areas. The newspaper cited Prime Minister Edi Rama who explains that the ban includes all electronic casinos, as well as sports betting in brick-and-mortar shops or online.
The new legislation makes an exception, however, for the operation of large casinos, where most forms of gambling would be allowed. This includes one casino in Albania’s capital Tirana – the casino facility is located inside a five-star hotel. The televised bingo games and the national lottery will also continue to operate for the simple reason that they still have a concession. All slot parlors will need to move to the outskirts of the cities, whereas all forms of sports betting will be outlawed.
Meanwhile, media reports suggested that the country was planning to establish a new online gambling monopoly. The new legislation actually considers the possibility of creating a state monopoly that would offer sports betting. Prime Minister Edi Rama, however, called the rumors “slander”, although they do include facts regarding his brother Olsi Rama, who is co-owner of a sports wagering site. It is called Bastarena and is the only company in Albania with a license to offer bets on sporting events via the Internet.
Shutting Down a Thriving Industry
The legislation passed this Thursday aims at tackling gambling addiction, which has become a huge problem in the country, according to the government. Albania, one of the poorest and least developed countries in Europe, ranks high in gambling-related spending. Every year, Albanians spend roughly €130 million on gambling and betting activities.
Gambling, experts say, has had a negative economic and social effects, while gambling addictions are clearly a serious health concern. The higher rates of domestic violence and divorces in recent years have also been linked with gambling-related disorders. Along with the negative impact on low-income families, experts point out that as a whole, the gambling industry poses a threat to the integrity of sports.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote in the Parliament, Prime Minister Rama told MPs that the betting industry was an “evil, entrenched deep into our society” and that with the new law, they were waging “frontal war” against it. The sports betting sector saw a huge growth in recent years, generating around €700 million in annual turnover. Rama specifically warned betting operators against moving their businesses online.
He made bold accusations, saying that some of the owners of betting shops had links with organized crime. According to the prime minister, some of them are, indeed, criminals. If they try to move their illegal sports betting business online or change their website to avoid shutting down, they would be tracked down and forced to close down anyway.
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