Legal casino gambling age in MontenegroMontenegro runs a licensing system for gambling in which the right to organise games of chance belongs to the state and is passed to private companies by an individual approval. Online casino games and betting are lawful, but only when offered by a company that is established in Montenegro and already holds an approval for land-based games. The framework was rebuilt in 2025. A new Law on Games of Chance, adopted by parliament on 31 July 2025, replaced the concession contracts that had governed the sector since 2004 with administrative approvals, raised capital requirements, tightened advertising and gave the exclusive right to run lotteries to a company wholly owned by the state. Supervision rests with the Administration for Games of Chance (Uprava za igre na sreću), a state administration body under the Ministry of Finance.
Key points
- Gambling is governed by the Law on Games of Chance (Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 91/25), adopted on 31 July 2025. It replaced the Law on Games of Chance of 2004, which had been amended eight times.
- Casino approvals are granted by the Government; betting, gaming machine and online approvals by the Administration for Games of Chance. Approvals last 15 years for casinos and eight years for betting and gaming machines.
- Online games may be offered only by Montenegrin companies that already hold a land-based approval. Legal commentators agree on a monthly fee of €10,000 per type of game but differ on the variable fee (15% or 10% of stakes less winnings paid).
- A 15% tax on winnings above €300, voted in September 2024 for 2025, was reported to be unworkable in practice. From 1 January 2026 a tiered tax applies to lottery and betting winnings: nothing up to €50, 10% up to €1,500 and 15% above that. Casino and gaming machine winnings are not taxed. Operators have challenged the change before the Constitutional Court.
- Players must be at least 18. The law lets players exclude themselves or set loss and stake limits, but we found no single national self-exclusion register.
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
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Historical development
Organised gambling in Montenegro long predates independence in 2006. According to its own company profile, Lutrija Crne Gore (Lottery of Montenegro) was founded in 1960 as a state enterprise and became a joint-stock company in 1997. Despite its name, it is no longer state-owned: the same profile lists Flash & As d.o.o. Podgorica as holding 50.99% of its shares and its founder Sava Grbović 43.71%, as of 1 January 2025.
The modern statute was the Law on Games of Chance of 2004, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro No. 52/04. The consolidated text published by the operators’ association Montenegrobet lists amendments in Official Gazette Nos. 13/07, 73/10, 40/11, 61/13, 37/17, 3/23 and 125/23. Under that law the right to organise games was granted through concession contracts, meaning contracts under which the state transfers the exercise of an exclusive right to a private company for a fee. The Administration for Games of Chance began work on 1 October 2008, according to its own description.
The sector grew strongly in the following decade. Radio Free Europe (RSE, September 2024) reported that at the end of June 2024 games were organised in 1,121 premises: 963 betting shops, 153 gaming machine clubs, four casinos and one closed tombola. It also cited an estimate by MONEYVAL, the Council of Europe’s anti-money-laundering body, that about €1.1 billion was spent on games of chance in Montenegro in 2022.
The amendments in Official Gazette No. 125/23 took effect on 1 January 2024. According to the Administration’s report for 2024, they introduced a fixed and a variable fee for online games, a minimum distance between gaming premises and schools, stronger anti-money-laundering provisions, higher casino concession fees and a ban on casinos in residential-commercial buildings. A national lottery had meanwhile ceased to operate: in March 2023 the deputy Dragan Krapović described the state lottery system as having been inactive for six years when he proposed a state-owned lottery company (Bankar.me).
Legal framework
The central statute is the Law on Games of Chance (Zakon o igrama na sreću), published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 91/25 on 6 August 2025. Parliament adopted it on 31 July 2025 with 47 votes in favour (CdM). It entered into force on the eighth day after publication: 14 August 2025 according to BDK Advokati in the Chambers Gaming Law 2025 guide, and 13 August 2025 according to Rona Legal. Finance Minister Novica Vuković called it the first such legislation in twenty years (Yogonet).
The main features of the 2025 law are:
- State right. Article 3 declares the organisation of games of chance to be an activity of public interest and the exclusive right of the State of Montenegro, which is transferred by a decision of the Government or by an approval of the Administration.
- Types of game. Article 6 lists casino games, betting games, games on gaming machines and lottery games, and provides that these games may also be organised via the internet.
- Operators. Under Article 21(1), approvals may be given only to joint-stock companies and limited liability companies with their seat in Montenegro whose principal activity is gambling (Rona Legal).
- Lotteries. According to BDK Advokati, the exclusive right to organise lottery games is granted to a company wholly owned by the state.
- Prohibitions. Article 20 prohibits allowing persons under 18 to register for or take part in games. It also prohibits participation by politically exposed persons, participation in foreign games for which stakes are paid in Montenegro, and collecting stakes in Montenegro for games organised abroad.
- Location. Premises must be at least 150 metres in a straight line from schools and similar institutions (Article 22), down from 250 metres under the previous rules, according to BDK Advokati.
- Transition. Article 106 ends the existing concession contracts. BDK Advokati and Rona Legal report that concession holders had 180 days to apply for new approvals and 270 days to align their operations, after which the old contracts were deemed terminated.
Organising games of chance without an approval is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or up to three years’ imprisonment, according to BDK Advokati, which also reports misdemeanour fines of up to €20,000 for breaches of the law.
Montenegro is not a member of the European Union, so EU internal market law does not apply directly. It is, however, an EU candidate country, and the government has presented the reform as part of aligning the sector with European standards ahead of the accession it hopes to complete by 2028 (SBC News).
Regulator and licensing model
The Administration for Games of Chance describes itself as a state administration body responsible for administrative, expert and other duties in the field of gambling. Its tasks include approving game rules, issuing and revoking approvals, keeping registers of operators and running the surveillance software. It works under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, which prepares gambling legislation and proposes casino approvals to the Government. On 1 November 2024 the Administration launched a central monitoring information system that gives it real-time data from operators (2024 report).
Montenegro follows a licensing model rather than a monopoly for most games: any company that meets the statutory conditions may apply. The 2025 law calls the licence an approval (odobrenje). Its main terms, as summarised by BDK Advokati and Rona Legal, are set out below.
| Type of game | Issued by | Duration | Minimum share capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casino games | Government, on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance | 15 years | €250,000 |
| Betting | Administration for Games of Chance | 8 years | €200,000 |
| Gaming machines (slot clubs) | Administration for Games of Chance | 8 years | €200,000 |
| Closed tombola | Administration for Games of Chance | 8 years | €75,000 |
| Lottery games | Reserved to a company wholly owned by the state | Not applicable | Not applicable |
BDK Advokati also reports bank guarantees of €400,000 for casinos, €30,000 plus €3,000 per shop for betting, and €35,000 plus €3,000 per venue for gaming machines. Casinos pay a one-off fee of €2 million on award and an annual fee of €100,000 plus 15% of gross gaming revenue (GGR, meaning stakes less winnings paid out).
At the end of 2024, still under the concession system, the Administration recorded 18 betting operators, 27 gaming machine operators, three casinos, 13 online operators and one closed tombola. Concession fees and premiums collected by the state rose from €11.9 million in 2020 to €22.4 million in 2023 and €33.8 million in 2024. Online games contributed €12.6 million in 2024, almost eight times the 2023 figure. We did not find a published list of approvals issued under the 2025 law.
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced
Online gambling is lawful in Montenegro, but only as an extension of a land-based business. According to BDK Advokati, an online approval can only be issued to an operator that already holds a Montenegrin approval for a land-based game of chance, and each operator may run one website. A company licensed only abroad cannot obtain a Montenegrin online approval.
Online operators pay two fees under Article 83 of the 2025 law, according to Rona Legal: a fixed fee of €10,000 per month for each type of game, and a variable fee of 15% of total stakes less winnings paid. BDK Advokati gives the same fixed fee but a variable fee of 10% of gross gaming revenue, as did some trade reports (Yogonet, SBC News). 10% was the variable rate under Article 68d of the previous law (consolidated text). We could not check Article 83 in the official text, so the current rate should be confirmed with the Administration.
The law also aims to shut out unlicensed operators. BDK Advokati summarises it as obliging the competent authorities to prevent access to the websites of unauthorised online operators through technical measures covering domains, IP addresses and alternative network routes, and allowing banks and payment institutions to be asked to block payment transactions. We did not find a published list of blocked domains, and we could not confirm how many sites have been blocked in practice.
Advertising. According to BDK Advokati, gambling advertisements must carry warnings about addiction and the ban on under-18s. They may not be broadcast on radio or television between 06:00 and 22:00, may not idealise gambling or present it as a solution to financial problems, and may not appear on equipment or at events aimed at young people. In December 2025 the Ministry of Finance announced that the law also bans gambling advertising in public spaces, including billboards and signs showing operators’ names or logos and promotions of bonuses, jackpots or free spins. Branding is allowed only on approved premises, without any invitation to play, and as logos on company vehicles (CdM, 27 December 2025).
Position of players
Playing with an operator that holds a Montenegrin approval is lawful for adults. Point 3 of Article 20 of the 2025 law prohibits “participation in foreign games of chance for which stakes are paid in the territory of Montenegro”, and point 4 prohibits collecting stakes in Montenegro for games organised abroad. The text therefore treats playing with foreign operators as unlawful, not merely unprotected.
It is less clear what sanction, if any, applies to an individual player. We could read the law’s general provisions but not its penalty chapter in full. The penalties described by BDK Advokati are aimed at organising games without approval, and we found no reported case of a player in Montenegro being fined or prosecuted for using a foreign website. A player with an unlicensed operator also has no Montenegrin regulator to turn to if winnings are not paid.
Taxation
Operators
Operators do not pay a separate gambling tax. They pay the fees set by the Law on Games of Chance, which are the state’s main source of revenue from the sector (€33.8 million in 2024, according to the Administration).
Players: the 2024 tax on winnings and what became of it
Until 2025 gambling winnings in Montenegro were not taxed. A similar tax had been tried before: Radio Free Europe (RSE) reports that a tax was introduced in 2015 and abolished by the government in the same year under pressure from the industry, while RTNK dates the earlier law to 2014 and its repeal to 2015.
In August 2024 the Ministry of Finance proposed a 15% tax on gambling winnings, expected to raise about €5 million a year. The ministry called the existing exemption unjustified (Focus Gaming News; SBC News). The operators’ association Montenegrobet opposed it and organised a petition. Parliament adopted the change to the Personal Income Tax Act in September 2024, with all 47 ruling-coalition deputies present voting in favour. The final text taxed winnings of €300 or more at 15% from 1 January 2025 (RSE).
The tax proved hard to apply. In late 2024 eleven operators asked the Ministry of Finance not to apply it, arguing that it could not work for gaming machines and casinos, where players keep staking their winnings (Bankar.me). On 9 January 2025 RTNK reported that the tax was not being charged, because operators had not received the implementing regulations that should have set out how it was to be calculated and collected for each type of game. When a replacement was tabled in December 2025, its justification said that the 2024 rule had failed because of poor drafting and missing secondary legislation (RTNK, 26 December 2025). We could not establish how much, if any, tax was collected under the 2025 rule.
The replacement came as an amendment to the Personal Income Tax Act tabled by Armen Šehović, a deputy of the Europe Now movement. It applies from 1 January 2026 to winnings from lottery games, betting and global jackpots. The taxable winning is the payout less the stake on the individual ticket, and operators withhold the tax at payout and pay it over by the 15th of the following month (RTNK). The rates are:
| Net winning per ticket | Rate (from 1 January 2026) |
|---|---|
| Up to €50 | 0% |
| €50.01 to €1,500 | 10% |
| Above €1,500 | 15% |
Casino and gaming machine winnings are not taxed. According to SBC News, the Ministry of Finance told operators on 31 December 2025 that they had 24 hours to adapt their systems. Montenegrobet criticised the deadline and the different treatment of casino games, and announced legal action. iGaming Expert reported on 9 January 2026 that a petition had been lodged with the Constitutional Court. We found no decision of the Court at the time of review.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
The minimum age for gambling is 18. Article 20 of the 2025 law prohibits allowing minors to register for or take part in any game of chance, and trade press reports that underage gambling has been criminalised (SBC News). The Administration lists combating underage gambling among its priorities, and in 2024 it withdrew concessions from premises that were too close to schools (2024 report).
Article 14 of the law gives players a right to self-exclusion, meaning a voluntary ban on one’s own play. A player may ask, in writing or electronically, to be excluded from play for a set or an indefinite period, or to set limits on losses or stake size. According to BDK Advokati, operators must apply the request immediately and notify the Administration within 24 hours. The law also provides for exclusion by the operator, and premises must display posters with information on addiction and help. We found no single national self-exclusion register comparable to those in some EU states, so an exclusion appears to operate operator by operator.
Trade press reports that the law requires operators to contribute to programmes for treating gambling addiction (Yogonet). We could not verify a dedicated national gambling helpline from an official source. Our responsible gambling guide sets out general steps for keeping gambling under control and recognising warning signs.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Tax on winnings (2024–2026). Adopted in September 2024, reported as unapplied in January 2025 and replaced by the tiered tax from 1 January 2026; operators’ Constitutional Court petition was pending at the last report we found (January 2026).
- New Law on Games of Chance (2025). Adopted on 31 July 2025 and published on 6 August 2025, it replaced concessions with approvals. The 270-day transitional period ended in May 2026, after which the old concession contracts were deemed terminated (Rona Legal).
- Challenge to the transitional rules (December 2025). An association of gaming suppliers and Lutrija Crne Gore asked the Constitutional Court to review Article 106, arguing that it was retroactive and breached acquired rights. In an opinion reported on 1 December 2025, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić replied that the law “does not have retroactive effect” and that the 270-day period allowed operators to adapt (SBC News). We found no ruling by the Court.
- Advertising (December 2025). The Ministry of Finance announced that gambling advertising in public spaces is prohibited under the new law (CdM).
- Lutrija Crne Gore (February 2026). The company stopped its gaming activities on 5 February 2026 and terminated all its concession contracts, saying it had been forced to do so against its will. It said it would keep running its television channel TV7 (Kurir). We did not find confirmation that the state-owned lottery company foreseen by the 2025 law had begun operating.
Casino listings for players in Montenegro
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not by themselves show that an operator is licensed in Montenegro. Under the 2025 law only Montenegrin companies with an approval from the Government or the Administration for Games of Chance may offer online games, and participation in foreign games paid for from Montenegro is prohibited. The listings must not be read as an indication that a given operator is authorised locally or that playing with it is lawful, and readers should check the Administration’s register of approved operators.
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Sources and further reading
- Government of Montenegro / Administration for Games of Chance, Zakon o igrama na sreću (Službeni list Crne Gore br. 91/25) (2025).
- Administration for Games of Chance, O nama (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Administration for Games of Chance, Izvještaj o radu Uprave za igre na sreću za 2024. godinu (2025).
- Montenegrobet, Zakon o igrama na sreću (Sl. list RCG 52/04, as amended to 125/23), consolidated text (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Popović, L. and Savović, M. (BDK Advokati), Chambers and Partners, Gaming Law 2025: Montenegro (2025).
- Kahraman, R. (Rona Legal), Montenegro’s 2025 Gaming Act: The Concession Era Has Ended (2026).
- CdM, Usvojen Zakon o igrama na sreću i niz drugih (2025).
- CdM, Ministarstvo finansija: Zaštita javnog prostora od oglašavanja igara na sreću (2025).
- Radio Slobodna Evropa, Crna Gora će oporezivati kockarske dobitke, planira milione eura prihoda (2024).
- Focus Gaming News, Montenegro Ministry of Finance proposes tax on gambling winnings (2024).
- SBC News, Montenegro to review tax charge on player winnings as gambling remains ruptured (2024).
- Bankar.me, Priređivači igara na sreću traže da se novo zakonsko rješenje ne primjenjuje od 1. januara (2024).
- RTNK, Dobici na kocki bez poreza zbog nemoguće primjene (2025).
- RTNK, Porez samo na dobitke na lutriji i kladionici: Skupštini dostavljen amandman na Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica (2025).
- SBC News, Income tax change causes chaos for Montenegro gambling (2026).
- iGaming Expert, Pressure mounts on Montenegro government over gambling tax (2026).
- Yogonet, Montenegro enacts gambling law with approval-based licensing and compliance measures (2025).
- SBC News, Montenegro adopts final version of New Games of Chance Law (2025).
- SBC News, Montenegro rejects constitutional review of New Gambling Law (2025).
- Lutrija Crne Gore, O nama (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Kurir Biznis, Gasi se državna lutrija Crne Gore (2026).
- Bankar.me, Krapović: Od višestrukog značaja osnivanje državnog preduzeća koje bi organizovalo igre na sreću (2023).
