The Directorate for Inspection Affairs (UIP) informed the Police Directorate - Department for Suppression of Economic Crime and the Tax Administration due to suspicions that they discovered the collection of payments for the organization of games of chance at some retail establishments, contrary to the amendments to the Law on Games of Chance that were adopted before the New Year .
"Vijesti" was told officially by the UIP that the market inspection of some retail establishments revealed that these payments do not go through the fiscal cash register or payment cards. The Administration did not specify with whom they discovered these irregularities.
The new Article 68f of the Law on Games of Chance defines that payments to the user's account with the organizers of games of chance for the purpose of participating in games of chance over the Internet are made only through payment cards or in the facility where the games of chance are organized.
Players of games of chance were previously able to top up their deposit directly with cash at newsagents or other retail outlets, which they have with the organizers of online games of chance, as well as through several e-banking systems. The government proposed an amendment to the law abolishing it, with the explanation that it does so to reduce the risk of money laundering, which the organizers and representatives of the chain of tobacconists denied.
In the amendments to this Law, it is also disputed that it is not specified who is competent to control the application of Article 68f, given that it is not a direct payment for games of chance, but some form of purchase of a payment transaction service. That is why the UIP decided that the controls should be carried out by the market inspection, and not by the inspection for games of chance.
"As in these situations it is about potential traffic between retail establishments to betting shops, and since the inspection for games of chance does not have the right to control this type of facilities, the market inspection, which has the authority to control this type of facilities in the context of business under the Law on Internal Trade and consumer protection in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Consumer Protection, carried out an inspection. By inspecting the situation on the ground and the documentation, it was established that the retail establishment has an application called 'Betting' at the cash register, and that payments on this account are not tracked by fiscal accounts, but only physical payments are made, which are entered in writing in a table, and collects the final amount and pays it with payment slips to the account of the same retail facility from which the payment is made", stated the Directorate for Inspection Affairs.
They did not specify at which retail chain they discovered this possible illegality.
"Due to the suspicion that adequate payment transactions are not carried out, and that there are no records in the cash register, we have informed the Police Directorate, i.e. the Department for Suppression of Economic Crime, as well as the Tax Administration, about these actions, so that they can take further steps in accordance with their competences and determined in what way, on what basis, through which software/terminal the payments are made and with what it is possibly connected, because it is not a payment to a giro account nor a payment via a payment card, as the mentioned article of this law provides. it is stated from this Administration.
Considering that online betting has an increasing presence compared to payments in betting shops, but also because of the high costs for the betting shop (fiscal concession per payment place, space lease, employee costs,...), last year the organizers closed a significant number of betting shops, and payments on player deposits were redirected to intermediaries, retail establishments, newsagents, e-banking,... According to "Vijesti" information, more than 100 online betting orders were registered with the organizers of games of chance.
As these types of payments through intermediaries were increasingly important, according to "Vijesti" information, part of the organizers and merchants found alternative ways of payment after the New Year's ban. So now at some retail stores you can buy cards, for which you get a fiscal invoice, with a certain amount and a code that are used for online payments. They do not say anywhere that they refer to payments for games of chance, but that the user himself is responsible for their further use. The buyer of the card can enter the code from the card on the issuer's applications and thus transfer the money to his betting account, but there is no such instruction written anywhere on the card.
Part of the organizers, in order to reduce crowds in betting shops, enabled players to make payments to their accounts via so-called QR codes.
These changes to the law were adopted in the Assembly without public debate, at the end of December, three days before the start of implementation. The organizers of the games of chance then launched a petition that was signed by 25 citizens in a few days. The petition was submitted to the Assembly with a request to amend the disputed article 68f, as well as to the Constitutional Court to evaluate the constitutionality and legality of the care.
Some of the organizers and retail chains previously announced that if this ban persists, they will be forced to reduce the number of employees.
Those in charge do not know who is in charge
That the amendment of this Law was adopted in a hurry is shown by the fact that there is no agreement among the competent institutions for this area - the Ministry of Finance, the Administration for Games of Chance and the UIP, who is responsible for controlling the application of this article.
"The inspection for games of chance, which is part of the UIP, is responsible for controlling the mentioned process, and the inspector himself can request reports from the organizers and determine where the payments come from. Also, the Gaming Authority has the legal possibility to ask the UIP to carry out an inspection", the Ministry of Finance stated.
The Gaming Authority has a different attitude.
"The Administration for Games of Chance is not competent to control and sanction non-compliance with this ban, but the listed activities are within the jurisdiction of the Administration for Inspection Affairs and the Tax Administration for the reason that it is about payment services in the field of games of chance," they stated from this Administration.
However, the UIP states that the control of these payments is not within the competence of the Inspection for Games of Chance because they are not performed by the organizers of games of chance, but by business entities registered for trade, which is why they sent the market inspection to control. This inspection carried out the inspection referring to the Law on Consumer Protection, not the Law on Games of Chance.
Bonus video:
