No increased controls for betting shops

Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have enough tax inspectors to control all sports betting shops in the country. Although the World Football Championship, which is being played in Brazil this year, starts in two days, there will be no increased controls for betting shops, of which there are several hundred in BiH.

Midhat Arifović, director of the Tax Administration of the Federation of BiH, told the BiH news agency Patria that increased turnover is expected in sports betting shops during the World Cup, but the Tax Administration of the FBiH will not conduct additional controls of betting shops.

- Our inspectors regularly conduct controls of betting shops throughout the year, but there will be no additional controls during the World Football Championship. For something like that, we would need three hundred additional inspectors, which we do not have – said Arifović.

According to research conducted so far in our country, Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the first countries in Europe in terms of the number of betting shops relative to the population.

Alarming reports indicate that as many as one in five residents of BiH plays some form of gambling. However, experts are now warning that during the World Cup in Brazil, betting shops in our country will be visited several times more often, reports Patria.