Dunović files appeal with Constitutional Court, seeking urgent regulation of gambling market in FBiH

FBiH Vice President Milan Dunović has filed a request with the Constitutional Court of the Federation for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Law on Gambling, which has been in effect in the Federation since 2015.

Dunović told the Patria News Agency that he believes the Law on Gambling does not treat state and private capital equally, which constitutes a violation of the Federation's Constitution. If gambling operators file lawsuits due to such an omission, it could have significant consequences for the FBiH budget.

- I am not referring to the new Law on Gambling, which the Government is yet to submit to parliamentary procedure. My appeal concerns the current Law on Gambling. In that law, state and private capital are not treated equally. This is not good. It is not in line with the Constitution of the Federation. I wanted the Constitutional Court to rule on this issue, so that we do not end up with the same mistakes in the new law on gambling as well – Dunović said.

The Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Finance want to regulate the taxation of gambling based on the model used in Croatia. It is expected that such a Government proposal could soon be adopted by the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament. Experts warn that the Government has incorporated errors from the Croatian system into the Federal Law.

Experts from Croatia have been warning for some time that the Law on Gambling in that country is not a quality solution. It taxes different types of gambling in different ways. Sports betting is taxed differently from slot machine arcades. Slot machine arcades are, according to Croatian law, in a more favorable position than sports betting shops. Due to these different standards, such a Croatian law ended up before the Constitutional Court of Croatia. A ruling from the highest judicial instance in Croatia on the Law on Gambling is expected soon.

The Federal Law, if adopted as planned by the Federal Government, will have the same shortcomings as the Croatian law. Experts explain that provisions that discriminate against gambling operators have also been incorporated into the Federal Law. One set of standards is planned for domestic operators, and another, much more favorable one, for slot machine arcades, whose owners are foreign companies.

The new Government proposal for the Law on Gambling envisages a 15 percent tax on gross revenue for slot machine arcades owned by foreigners, while domestic betting shops are subject to a 20% tax on gross revenue for RNG games and an additional 10% to 30% on all winnings generated by domestic operators.

- We are seeking an answer as to why the Government wants to tax domestic betting shops more than foreign slot machine arcades – operators are asking.