Vukoja: New proposal for amendments to the Law on Games of Chance even more unfavorable for domestic betting shops

The proposal for amendments and supplements to the Law on Games of Chance could be on the agenda of the FBiH Government as early as Thursday. It was confirmed to Patria from the FBiH Government that the Ministry of Finance has already prepared the proposal for amendments to this law and that it will soon be on the Government's agenda.

Private organizers of games say that the new Proposal for amendments and supplements to the Law on Games of Chance will not solve the problems currently faced by domestic organizers. On the contrary, they will be in an even more unfavorable position.

- If we were to retroactively apply the taxation model that the Federal Ministry of Finance is now proposing to the operations of games of chance organizers in 2016, the achieved effect would be a loss for all organizers of over 185 million KM in one year – says Krešo Vukoja, director of Premier kladionica, for Patria.

- The proposal for amendments to the Law on Games of Chance, prepared by the Federal Ministry of Finance, not only fails to resolve but further deepens inequality in terms of taxation and legal obligations of games of chance organizers, because betting games are taxed differently compared to slot machine clubs and casinos, which, for who knows what time, clearly shows everyone that the intention is to destroy domestic private betting shops through legal regulation, and to favor slot machine clubs, which are in the hands of foreign companies, and open the domestic market for them – Vukoja believes.

He says that domestic organizers support the model of amending the Law on Games of Chance that would treat all games of chance organizers equally, regardless of their ownership, both in terms of taxation and in terms of fulfilling legal conditions for organizing games of chance.

- We advocate for at least special games of chance (betting games, slot machines, casinos) to be treated equally for tax purposes. It is sad that in the 21st century we have to fight with the state for equality before the law, which is guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the same state that is continuously and systematically pushing us towards ruin – says Vukoja.