Association Serbia: Gaming Industry Market Report Jakta Association Research Team Research period for Serbia: 2013 Author: Mirjana Acimovic, Dejan Bozovic, Milica Dinic Report Date: April 28th, 2014 1
General information on the Serbian Gaming Law and facts Types of Games of Chance 1. Classic games of chance; 2. Special games of chance; 3. Prize competitions in which prizes are awarded in goods and services. Classic Games of Chance 1. Basic classic games of chance: (1) Lottery, instant lottery, and other lottery-based games; (2) Sports betting (wagering on the result of football matches or other sports competitions); (3) Lotto, keno and similar games; (4) Tombola, bingo, and other similar games based on tombola; 2. Other classic games of chance: (1) Fonto; (2) SMS / Text message lottery; (3) Other games of chance (included in the games of chance catalogue) Right to Organize Classic Games of Chance The Serbian State Lottery has exclusive right to organize classic games of chance. Fee for organizing classic games of chance amounts to 60% of the basis which is the difference between the total value of stakes received and the total amount of winnings fund. Special Games of Chance Special games of chance include: 1. Games organized in gaming facilities (casinos), in which players play against the casino or against each another on tables using: (1) Small balls; 2
(2) Dice; (3) Cards; (4) Other similar accessories. 2. Games played on slot machines; 3. Betting, where the winnings and stakes are fixed at the moment of paying in the bet and which cannot be changed later, and where the participant bets on: (1) The results of individual or group sport matches and certain events relating to sports competitions; (2) other events Right to Organize Special Games of Chance The right to organize special games of chance in casinos is transferred with a license issued by the government. The right to organize special games of chance on slot machines and the right to organize betting on sport and other events shall be transferred with approval of the Administration. Approval Fee for games on slot machines Game organizers have to pay monthly fee for obtaining approval for organizing special games of chance on slot machines equal to 25 in dinar equivalent for each slot machine installed. Organizing Fee for games on slot machines Game organizers has to pay 5% fee for organizing games of chance on slot machines, applied to a base equal to the difference between total funds collected as wagers and total payouts; however, the fee cannot be less than 35 in dinar equivalent per month, for each slot machine. If the organizer has annual turnover per slot machine in excess of 18,000 in dinar equivalent, he is obligated to pay 10% fee on the total annual turnover in excess of 18.000 in dinar equivalent. 3
Approval Fee for betting Game organizers have to pay a fee for obtaining approval for organizing special games of chance betting equal to 100 per month, in dinar equivalent, for each betting shop. Organizing Fee for betting Game organizers has to pay 15% fee for organizing games of chance betting, applied to a base equal to the difference between total funds collected as wagers and total payouts; however, the fee cannot be less than the dinar equivalent of 500 per month, for each betting shop. Right to Organize Games of Chance through Means of Electronic Communications The right to organize games of chance through means of electronic communication can be transferred by the approval of the Administration. Only the Serbian State Lottery has the right to organize classic games of chance through means of electronic communication, without any specific approval. Approval Fee through Means of Electronic Communications The organizer has to pay approval fee of total 2,500 per month in dinar equivalent for organizing any type of games of chance through electronic communication. Organizing Fee through Means of Electronic Communications The organizer has to pay monthly organizing fee for games of chance betting through electronic communication in the amount of 15% of the basis and for all other games of chance played through electronic communication in the amount of 5% of the basis which is the difference between total received stakes and total payouts, whereby the total amount of the monthly fee cannot be less than 7,500 in dinar equivalent. 4
Prize Competitions in which Prizes are awarded in Goods and Services A prize competition in which prizes are awarded in goods and services is a game organized for promotional of other purposes by a legal person or an entrepreneur, and in which participants have a chance to win a prize in goods or services that are specified in advance. By purchasing certain products or using services or benefits provided by the organizer, a participant gains the right to participate in the game. Right to Organize Prize Competitions The right to organize prize competitions in goods or services is transferred by consent granted by the Administration. Organizing Fee for Prize Competitions Game organizers have to pay 25% of the total value of the prize fund as fee for organizing prize competitions. Great number of operators is disadvanged by Financial Sector not being able to gain bank guarantee, or other financial service from banks just due to a fact that they are member of gaming industry. Foreign investment are still discouraged by many factors among one is slow and ineffective administration in Serbia, there is lack of transparency in bringing regulation. Policy makers are sending mixed signals to interest parties aware that they still did not took full attention to games of chance. 5
New Legislation Issue 1: The 2013 igaming Laws (Official Herald of RS No. 75/2013) with sub-regulations does not cover key details and has to be upgraded to ensure that igaming operators stop operating in the grey economy and start contributing to the budget. Issue 2: The MoF has appointed the Military Technical Institute (VTI) to create an igaming laboratory, but currently the VTI is underfunded (lack of resources from the budget) and lacks trained HR capacity to create such an advanced EU accredited lab. The result is that the VTI cannot issue igaming certificates, Ministry of Finance cannot issue approvals for igaming operators, thereby leading to a loss of potential tax revenues to the exchequer. Size of industry Number of amusement machines - 20793 Machines per sites - 7 Total licences granted - 62 Growth of industry no indicators Currently gambling market in Serbia is at the point of waiting for the new government to start working. Although, the rules regulating online games of chance are published they are incomplete and therefore neither one licence for online gambling has been issued yet. We hope that the regulators will continue with the positive regulation of Serbian gaming industry and especially regarding land based gambling operators whose business is threatened due to various taxes and enormous black market. 6