The Republic of Serbia is located on the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. It is surrounded by Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Gambling is no new activity in Serbia. It has been on-and-off available for both Serbian and foreign players for a while, and we’ve managed to track the changes that have been made up until present times. The first appearance of gambling in Serbia can be linked to the 1940s – and more precisely, the days of World War II. As for its legality, gambling has been legal since 1964 and gambling license holders are regulated by the Games Chance Administration, which is under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Ministry of Finance and Economy. At this time, gambling was strategically used as a means to develop the economy and the tourism industry. There were even a number of gambling facilities that operated illegally—and gambling (zdrebe) was also used to determine the division of lands amongst the locals.
During the late 1990s, most of the gambling venues in the country were illegal. But in 2001, the Serbian government created the new legislative act, according to which the state receives a monopoly on the activities of all casinos and gambling clubs. In 2001, in an effort to restore the legality of the gambling business, the Serbian government creates a new legislative act. According to its provisions, the state receives a monopoly on the conduct of the activities of all casinos and gambling halls.
Up until 2011, the State Lottery had a monopoly on the online gambling market, but all of that changed when the New Act on Games of Chance was introduced to the public. This new act revolutionized the way Serbians can experience casino games online and it proved to be a massive step forward towards bettering the industry. Because of the Lottery’s monopoly, there were new changes added in 2011 that are active today. According to the renewed law, the National Lottery’s monopoly is eliminated. Another significant change relates to Internet gambling – a lot of offshore casinos are now restricted and not available for Serbian players. Players should only enter native online casinos or offshore ones that are licensed and approved for a Serbian gaming license.
