The Bratislava City Council has moved forward with the introduction of a fresh round of restrictions on the way retail gambling services are provided in the capital of Slovakia.
Changes to Slovakia’s Gambling Act that took effect earlier this year gave municipalities the power to implement rules and restrictions where they believe these are needed.
According to a recent media report, the Bratislava City Council has adopted new regulations that aim to restrict the operations of gambling halls located all over the city. Under the new rules, gambling halls are no longer allowed to operate within 200 meters from schools and other educational facilities as well as from institutions that work with children and youth and centers that treat non-substance addictions.
In addition, gambling halls must no longer be located within 200 meters from each other. The new restrictions are set to take effect in mid-November.
After prolonged discussions, Slovakia’s new gambling law took effect earlier this year. Aside from giving municipalities more power to determine how gambling should be conducted on their territories, the country’s new gambling regime paved the way for the reorganization of the local online gambling market.
Under Slovakia’s updated Gambling Act, international companies can now apply for licenses from the nation’s regulators and provide online gaming and sports betting services in a regulated environment. The recently adopted legislative changes also ended the online monopoly of the state-owned lottery Tipos. First regulated online gambling services under the new regime are expected to be launched sometime next year.
More Gambling Restrictions to Be Rolled Out Next Year
The Bratislava City County has prepared a second round of restrictions, with those being set to be rolled out in January 2020.
Under the soon-to-be-implemented rules, all bingo, board games, gambling machines, video game terminals, and other gambling devices operated directly by players will be banned from being gambled on on certain days throughout the year, most notably during national holidays.
However, the planned restrictions on the provision of retail gambling services on the territory of the Slovak capital could eventually culminate in a full-blown ban on gambling. Anti-gambling groups have started a petition that calls for a blanket gambling ban and it has already garnered 100,000 signatures.
The planned restrictions are expected to result in a significant drop in gambling revenue generated on the territory of Bratislava, which would imminently affect the city’s take in the form of taxes paid by the operators of gambling facilities around the Slovak capital.
Members of the City Council expect that income from gambling activities will begin to be noticed from late 2020 when the first gambling hall licenses are set to expire and many applications for renewals are expected to be rejected due to applicants’ failure to comply with the new rules implemented by city officials.
Source: Gambling faces new restrictions in Bratislava, TheMayor.eu
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