Online monitoring of games of chance begins in July

The information system for the online supervision of games of chance (ISONIS) will begin to be applied in July, but it will only apply to machines, bookmakers, terminals and partly to internet games, announced the director of the Administration for Games of Chance, Marko Ćulafić.

He told the Mina-business agency that this is provided for in the Law on Games of Chance, which prescribes obligations for the organizers of betting, games of chance on machines and over the Internet, to connect to the online monitoring system of the competent body - the Administration for Games of Chance.

Ćulafić believes that better normative solutions in this area and the drafting of a new law are needed, because the current law does not cover all segments and in this way individual organizers are discriminated against through the on-line monitoring system.

"With the additional increase in personnel, administrative and technical capacities and the successful implementation and functioning of the online system, all the necessary prerequisites for even more efficient work of the Administration for Games of Chance in the coming period will be optimally achieved," said Ćulafić.

He reminded that during the last years there has been an expansion of games of chance, the introduction of new types of games, an increase in the number of locations for hosting and the overall availability of games has increased.

Thus, as Ćulafić announced, in the last six years, about EUR 42 million has flowed into the budget from games of chance.

However, as he warned, due to the fact that important issues are not regulated by law, it can be expected that in the coming year, part of the games of chance, organized via the Internet and with the help of modern multimedia means of communication, will also lead to a decrease in budget revenues based on concessions and move into illegal streams.

"The current situation and problems in practice that this Administration faced in previous years occurred because some important issues are not regulated by law, while others are partially regulated or completely overcome in many segments and do not follow the developments in the gaming industry. This certainly imposes a responsibility on the Montenegrin gaming industry, the state and society to standardize and improve this area", believes Ćulafić.

Since Montenegro, as he reminded, opened the chapter of negotiations on accession to the EU, it therefore assumed the obligation of selective harmonization with secondary sources of law, which will be important in the eventual adoption of the new Law on Games of Chance.

The ISONIS system collects all types of data from gaming machines and provides fiscal data to the competent authority. It is designed to ensure that data cannot be lost if the connection with the Gaming Authority is terminated under any circumstances for any reason

According to Ćulafić, the establishment of an on-line monitoring system will significantly facilitate the work of the Administration and the control of the organizers' work in the future.

A public call for the creation of an online system was published on February 19 last year, and the most favorable offer was chosen in November. The offer of the Smart-tech company from Podgorica was chosen for the development of the Information System for online supervision of games of chance, and from January 26 to 30 this year, a total of seven presentations of the system were held in the premises of the Administration, to which all registered organizers were invited. Montenegro.

"The aim of the presentation was to familiarize the organizers with the basic functions of ISONIS, as well as the obligations in accordance with the Law. The security measures taken during the development of software for ISONIS were presented, which enable secure communication between organizers and ISONIS, all with the aim of gaining trust in the monitoring system and protecting the information of every company that owns a concession for organizing games of chance," explained Ćulafić.

The ISONIS system collects all types of data from gaming machines and provides fiscal data to the competent authority. It is designed to ensure that data cannot be lost if the connection with the Gaming Authority is terminated under any circumstances for any reason.

"With the end of the tender for hardware on April 17 this year, the expectation is that the implementation of ISONIS can begin in July," said Ćulafić.

According to him, the issue of organizing games of chance via the Internet is unavoidable.

The current Law on Games of Chance stipulates that it is allowed to organize games of chance via the Internet, that is, other telecommunications means, and only to companies that have a concession for organizing games of chance, with the prior consent of the administrative body responsible for games of chance.

"In order to organize the aforementioned games in Montenegro, there is a legally established concession fee in the fixed amount of ten thousand euros. It is important to point out the necessity of harmonizing regulations in the field of games of chance, with socio-economic and other opportunities and eliminating the negative effects of games of chance, avoiding the risk of crime, as well as protecting the participants from deception in those games", said Ćulafić.

According to him, the new law should ensure more money for the needs of the more vulnerable categories of the population, so that there will be less room for malfeasance, tax evasion, non-payment of benefits and tightening of punitive measures.

"In this way, everyone who participates in games of chance will directly help these vulnerable categories, socially beneficial programs and projects," said Ćulafić.

Adequately prescribing the organizer's obligations and stricter penal provisions due to the illegal organization of games of chance, as well as effective prevention and sanctioning of abuses on the market, he added, will improve financial discipline and enable better protection of the interests of legal organizers.

"The practice of well-regulated gambling markets also shows us that where systemic control is established, the entire society benefits from the industry from this type of service, considering that humanitarian organizations, local governments, sports, culture are financed from budget funds and other things," stated Ćulafić.

Also, as he added, along with the development and creation of equal conditions for all producers, absolute state control, higher profits and budget revenue, one of the very important conditions of a responsible system of state supervision is the protection of its own citizens and minors and the provision of fair, honest and well-controlled games. Luckily.

"With the introduction of modern control, the regulator would in a short period find itself with legislators from all over the world who, with responsible and professional actions, contribute to the suppression of criminal activities that appear with games of chance if they are not well regulated. Well-organized markets are very attractive for investments," said Ćulafić.

As he said, experience shows that legitimate representatives of the gaming industry always stand up for and support the efforts and measures of the regulator that will bring order and enable them to operate equally and gain profit.

"We are also aware of the responsible task and dilemmas that the regulator may face in efforts to introduce an online control system, and how almost everywhere he has to face resistance, negative lobbying and obstructions from structures that are not suitable for supervision and control, and are mostly generated in the gray economy", said Ćulafić.

He reminded that the countries of the EU and the world have long been applying, according to their needs and specific economic, social and other needs, measures by which they ensure for their population that, if they allow this type of service, it is strictly controlled and very clearly regulated.

"In the desire for economic benefits in terms of taxes, employment of the workforce, development and encouragement of tourism, etc., the responsibility of the state itself to protect its citizens and minors from excessive or poorly controlled and unregulated gambling should not be skipped," said Ćulafić.

According to him, the characteristic of broad socio-economic flows is the trend of increasing liberalization and the industry of games of chance is considered a legitimate activity with great interests of users, organizers and the state.

The Law on Games of Chance was adopted in 2004, when the 1995 law expires, and its full implementation began in August 2005.

The adoption of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Games of Chance in 2007 and amendments to the Regulation on the Organization and Mode of Operation of the State Administration in 2008 created a normative assumption for the establishment of the Administration for Games of Chance, with the aim of ensuring a more efficient and rational performance of work and raising standards in the field of organizing games of chance and ensuring constant and complete control of the organizers.

"The characteristic of broad socio-economic flows is the trend of increasing liberalization and the industry of games of chance is considered a legitimate activity with great interests of users, organizers and the state"

From its establishment in 2008 to 2012, the Administration for Games of Chance worked as an independent body.

"The law has recently shown in practice that certain legal solutions are unclear, vague, and some have been overcome, and that's why the Gaming Authority submitted an initiative for amendments to the law in November 2010," recalls Ćulafić.

The draft law was put up for public discussion by the Ministry of Finance on August 12, 2011, and the Government adopted the Proposal at the session held on December 22 of the same year.

The amendment proposal was forwarded to the Assembly for further procedure, but the Government withdrew it in 2012.

Organizational changes in the work of the state administration were followed by the adoption of the Regulation on the Organization and Mode of Work of the State Administration, which established that the supervision of the legality and effectiveness of the Administration for Games of Chance is the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.

By the same Decree, the Directorate for Inspection Affairs was established and it took over from the Directorate for Games of Chance the civil servants and employees who performed the assumed duties, equipment and official documentation.

"It should be noted here that the inspection supervision over the implementation of the Law on Games of Chance has been transferred to another, then newly established independent body, the Directorate for Inspection Affairs, which until further notice performs inspection supervision in this area," said Ćulafić.

Due to the frequent and different interpretations of what the Administration for Games of Chance should deal with, he states that the authority of the Administration is determined by Article 70 of the Law.

"Especially due to the increase in the scope of the gambling offer, because the Law knows no restrictions in this area. Furthermore, the transparency of the Administration's work has been improved by regularly updating the website Gaming Authority and timely resolution of all requests for free access to information," said Ćulafić.

He assessed that organizing games in a responsible manner means, primarily, meeting the need for games of chance in safe, legal, technologically modern conditions, taking care to prevent or at least minimize possible harmful consequences for society.