Today, the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, Finance and Budget did not support the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on Games of Chance, which, according to the proponent, introduces more order and better protects the public interest in that area.
The changes refer to lottery games for two main reasons, because the state must publish a new advertisement for the award of a concession by the end of the year, and now this is not specified by law, and because the state is now introducing online supervision for other organizers of games of chance, and according to the current law, they are from and state control exempt lottery games. Lottery games are the only games of chance for which there is no fixed concession fee. With this proposal, it is estimated at the amount of at least 100.000 euros per year, and the concession is awarded to the bidder who offers more in the ad.
All these privileges to the detriment of the state are held by the Lottery of Montenegro, whose owner is businessman Sava Džigi Grbović.
Independent MP Miloš Konatar said that the reason for submitting amendments to that law is that the existing concession for organizing lottery games of chance expires on 31. December. "The existing law does not protect the state well, and our proposal only refers to the organization of lottery games of chance. This is not about politics or ideology, but only about increasing revenue and protecting state interests when it comes to the existing rules regarding the organization of lottery games of chance," Konatar explained at the Board session. The proposal for amendments to the law on games of chance, which was proposed by 32 members of parliament, on the initiative of Konatar and member of parliament Dritan Abazović, will be discussed tomorrow at the plenum. Konatar stated that the proposed changes introduce the concept of a fixed concession for the organizer of games of chance, which is not the case in the existing Law. "Now, for example, casino owners pay a fixed part of the concession, while the organizer of lottery games pays zero EUR to the state in the name of a fixed concession. Our proposal is to regulate by law the existence of a fixed concession as part of the obligations towards the state that the organizers will pay to the state, because at the moment the state is losing a million euros annually due to this non-payment," Konatar said. Also, with the proposed changes, in addition to the shareholder changes, companies with limited liability can apply for the competition and apply for a concession for organizing lottery games of chance. "As for the prize fund, it should be kept in a separate checking account. Now the organizer can keep the prize fund together with other current funds in one account and present it as a prize fund and mislead the players," Konatar added. Member of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Zoran Jelić, asked why representatives of lottery games and organizers of games of chance were not invited to the session and said that they should have been invited. "The concessions expire on the 31st. December, but why rush? This is premature and the new convocation of the Assembly should pass a new law on games of chance. Also, a public hearing should have been held first, which I think the representative of the proponent did not do," said Jelić. He stated that the organizers insist that a new law be passed. "It's obvious that someone is holding it back. Why? I do not understand. We all want to protect the country, and in what way and from whom do we protect it", asked Jelić. He said that the company Lutrija Crne Gore, as a joint stock company, is on the white list of taxpayers. "We are fighting against someone who regularly pays his tax obligations. We need to see if there is room for such payments or if this threatens their business. It is also important that the representative of the proponent says how much income was generated by organizing games of chance," said Jelić. He said that he has nothing against the prize fund being in a separate account, but it is always publicly announced when a certain lottery game is announced and it has never happened that it was not paid out. The representative of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) and the chairman of the Committee, Aleksandar Damjanović, said that they were not interested in attending the session of the organizers of games of chance, and that if they had applied, they would have been invited. "The opposition signed this proposal bearing in mind the alarming situation in only one part of the field of games of chance, namely lottery games. And it is necessary to legally treat the others, where I mean casinos where the most money is spent and there is the least control," Damjanović assessed. Jelić suggested that the representative of the proposer withdraw that text, and that a thematic session be convened on that topic and that a new law be drafted, on which the new convening will declare. "Someone is in a terrible hurry to probably create even more chaos in this industry, especially before the elections," said Jelić. Democratic Front (DF) MP, Radojica Živković, said that the MPs of that party will vote for the proposed amendments. "Mr. Jelić himself admitted that there is chaos, because he said that even more chaos should be created." The logical conclusion is that it is already chaos, which I agree with," said Živković. He also asked why the organizers' representatives would come when their main representatives are the DPS MPs, who defend their interests. Jelić said that he did not say that chaos reigns, but that they have a rather disorderly relationship, which they have been talking about for three or four years. "We are not representing anyone here personally, but the citizens of Montenegro who should have regulated activity and those who are beneficiaries from the budget, i.e. pensioners and socially vulnerable categories," Jelić added. Konatar stated that he agrees that the new convocation should pass a new law, but that their motive for submitting the law was that the concession expires on the 31st. December. "This law is not directed against the Lottery of Montenegro, nor is it mentioned as a company anywhere in the explanation of the law. "The rules that apply to these proposals apply to both the Lottery and all potential lawbreakers who do not pay or pay insufficiently," Konatar stated.
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