After closing sports betting, casinos and gambling in 2019, it seems that Albania will legalize these activities again.
For more information, read this article —> Strict legislation for betting and gambling in Albania
The news has been rumored for a long time in the local media, but recently, Prime Minister Edi Rama has confirmed these rumors, giving more details about how gambling will work in the future.
According to the prime minister, classic betting shops will not return, but the plan is to license up to 3 companies, which will only operate online. In this way, the dishonest competitors are also eliminated, who have continuously operated in the black, despite the law that prohibits them. Prime Minister Rama said:
"We will not go back to betting parlors, games or machines in any way. The consideration is online betting. There is a lot of discussion about online betting. The hall of parasites where people gather and blow their savings, there will be no... We are not talking here about opening up, but about taking this activity out of the hands of the black economy and bringing these benefits to light because in all cases, it is clear and no experience, not even China, can stop it. What counts here is the reflection of how they can help the sport more."
The unexpected decision came after a public hearing where leaders of various sports organizations in the country requested that the models applied in European countries be taken as a basis. In almost all EU countries, sports betting is legalized and formalized partially or fully by the state, giving citizens the opportunity to try their luck, but also eliminating unfair competition.
Meanwhile, director of gambling, Zhani Çakuli, has provided more technical details on how players will place bets in the future. According to one of the proposals, all enthusiasts will have to register via ID card, while every online transaction will be monitored by the government. Çakuli also highlighted the problems with physical betting halls. He said:
"There were 5 halls, they had become a gangrene. Through the complaints portal we receive many complaints. It became unaffordable. We don't really have a part to deal with the informal halls, but when we get information we go. We have had 150 criminal proceedings in the last two years. The problem was with the advertisements that were made. Since the ads were stopped, the complaints decreased. As there were many halls, even the managers could not control the players..."
But which will be the sports betting companies that will operate in Albania?
There are still very few details about this, but according to Rama, his condition for giving the final approval is that the operators are international. Also, most of the profits from these activities are expected to be invested in the field of sports. This idea has received approval from the head of the ALF, Armand Duka.
In contrast to other times, Rama has already admitted that it is quite difficult to separate gambling activities from the world of crime, saying that often, it is individuals with criminal profiles who control these activities in the dark. This was confirmed by the new director of the State Police, Tonin Vocaj, who mentioned the numerous operations undertaken in recent years to attack illegal entities.
But what are the opportunities that sports betting and gambling enthusiasts have in Albania today? Since any form of gambling is strictly prohibited, the only easily accessible alternative is foreign sites like Bet365, 22Bet, 20Bet etc. Despite the government's efforts to stop citizens from accessing many of these sites, the lack of a separate law for foreign companies has meant that many sports fans continue to play on these platforms.
The National Lottery is the only game of chance that is legal and licensed by state authorities. It has been operating since 2012, while in 2016 the National Lottery services were acquired by Novomatic, a giant in the gambling industry, thus increasing the range of games and opportunities for players.
Meanwhile, casinos are still active in some tourist spots near certain hotels or resorts, but these are very few, since they are reserved only for the highest standard hotels. This means they are inaccessible to most players. Meanwhile, as far as foreign sites are concerned, players often have to use VPN services to access them, since most internet operators have banned access to the domains of these platforms.
The head of the Albanian Olympic Committee, Fidel Ylli, also expressed his indignation with the current situation, expressing the need for legalization in the proper form of gambling. The star said:
"Now more is being gambled than before and the state has no control, 20-30 million lek are being gambled per week, it is a phenomenon that I have said to close, if we close black betting, controlled by the state and not the private sector, there is no country that does not have a betting company, how do we tell a European citizen who wants to play, that we do not have the law... I have taken examples from other laws that with an identity card you cannot to play more than 500 euros... today they play with millions and the sport is not getting any money..."
According to experts in the field, Albanian sports can benefit up to 20 million euros in revenue if gambling and sports betting are legalized again. Not to mention indirect benefits through promotions and marketing.
We recall that in 2019, the Albanian government considered the possibility of creating a state betting company. The model would have the form of a monopoly, very similar to the scheme applied in the Scandinavian countries, where only public companies have the right to exercise this activity. However, it seems that the authorities have changed their approach, and now we will be dealing with a form of oligopoly, where players will be able to choose between 3 licensed companies.
