Croatia targets unregulated sports betting market with new legislation
Operators required to sign up to Croatian licensing or face potential exclusion
The Croatian Ministry of Finance is drawing up new legislation to help block unlicensed operators from the market.
There is no current mechanism in place to prevent unlicensed international operators targeting Croatian citizens, but ISP blocking is reportedly one of the measures under consideration by Croatian authorities.
According to recent estimates, the unregulated online betting market in Croatia is worth an estimated HRK2bn (£23.4m), all of which is currently untaxed.
A regulated market exists but all operators are required to maintain a physical presence in Croatia in order to be licenced – a rule which international firms claim contravenes EU law.
The current licensing regime to pay a HRK3m (£351,179) licence fee and a monthly fee of 5% of gross gaming revenues.
Licensed operators are also currently required to provide the Ministry of Finance with access to their systems to monitor their activities.
Players are also taxed on their winnings from licensed sites at escalating rates of 10% on winnings up to HRK10,000 and 15% on winnings between HRK10,000 to HRK30,000. Winnings of between HRK30,000 and HRK500,000 are taxed at 20%, while winnings exceeding HRK500,000 are taxed at 30%.