The report of the Gaming Authority for 2024 states that they had a representative in the working group for the development of a new law on games of chance, which was formed on April 12, 2024, but also states that "although the working group did not finally draft the Bill on Games of Chance, the conclusions from the meetings held had positive effects for further work on the development of the legal framework."
When asked by "Vijesti" who prepared the draft law on games of chance if not the working group that was formed for that purpose, the Ministry of Finance did not specifically answer, but listed all the stages of preparation without stating who wrote this proposal, which received over 200 comments from organizers, non-governmental organizations, government institutions and the media.
The law significantly increases fees for organizers, who said they were economically unsustainable, introduces bans on advertising this activity, prevents the distribution of money for public interest, and provides for measures to prevent gambling addiction, in which the Ministry of Health refused to participate and which the NGO sector claims are not effective enough.
Both the Red Cross and EKIP were rejected.
This draft was subject to public discussion from October 21 to November 25, after which a small number of suggestions from organizers, NGOs, and state institutions were accepted. Even proposals from the Red Cross to allocate them some of the money they are entitled to under the law on that institution were rejected, as well as from the Electronic Communications Agency (EKIP), which, despite its opposition, is required to block illegal betting sites.
The government adopted the draft law at the end of December and sent it to the Parliament for consideration only on February 2nd.
When asked why the government was sent a draft law that was not prepared by a working group, the Ministry of Finance did not provide a clear answer, but instead listed some activities, skipping over some of the facts.
"The Ministry of Finance published a Public Call for Consultation with the Interested Public in the Initial Phase of Preparation of the Draft Law on Games of Chance on 12.04.2024. Stakeholders in the consultative process provided initiatives, proposals, suggestions and comments, which were important for the development of the draft Law," the Ministry stated.
The organizers were in one session
This call was made before any form of law, and according to the organizers, what they sent during that period was not accepted.
"Also, on April 12, 2024, a Working Group was formed to draft the Bill on Games of Chance, consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Gambling Administration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Inspection Administration, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Sports, the Coordination Body for the Protection and Promotion of Public Interest in the Field of Organizing Games of Chance, the Central Bank, and immediately after its establishment, i.e. from July 2024, the Group of Organizers of Games of Chance, as part of the Chamber of Commerce," the Ministry stated.
The group previously stated that their representative was only invited to one session of the working group, that he was not formally recognized as a member of the group, and that most of their proposals were not accepted. Also, July 2024 is not "immediately after the establishment" of the working group, but three months after its establishment.
There were no members from NGOs.
No non-governmental organization dealing with addiction prevention was invited to the working group, even though it is a legal obligation for representatives of the NGO sector to participate in working groups. Nor were representatives of the media invited, even though they are subject to obligations and have their income taken away.
"Also, the Ministry of Finance, within the framework of the public debate, and with the aim of complete transparency and appreciating the importance of a broad dialogue and contributions from interested parties, organized a round table on the Draft Law on Games of Chance. The round table, which was held on November 12, 2024, was attended by the majority of representatives of organizers of games of chance from Montenegro, media representatives, as well as representatives of the Gaming Authority. Accordingly, the drafting of the Draft Law went through several stages, and the Ministry of Finance, as the proposer, certainly had the most responsible role in its preparation. The final Draft Law was prepared after the Public Debate and was agreed with a large number of institutions responsible for certain areas regulated by this law (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and Media, Agency for Audiovisual Media Services and others)," the Ministry stated, without specifying who prepared the law if not the working group.
A large number of amendments to the law were proposed at this roundtable, most of which were not accepted. Proposals from the Gaming Inspectorate, the Electronic Communications Agency, the Red Cross, etc. were also not accepted.
"The procedure for drafting regulations was developed in accordance with the Regulation on the selection of representatives of non-governmental organizations in working bodies of state administration bodies and the implementation of public debate in the preparation of laws and strategies ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 41/2018). This regulation establishes the criteria and procedure for the selection of representatives of non-governmental organizations in working groups and other working bodies established by ministries and bodies to consider issues of common interest or for the normative regulation of relevant issues, as well as the procedure and manner of conducting public debate in the preparation of laws and strategies. The members of the Working Group from the Ministry of Finance and the Gaming Authority, who made up the majority of delegated members, did not receive remuneration for their work," the Ministry stated.
However, the working group did not have any representatives from the non-governmental sector, nor were they invited, so it did not comply with the Regulation on the election of representatives of non-governmental organizations to working bodies of state administration bodies and the implementation of public debate in the preparation of laws and strategies.
They admitted that it is not possible to tax the gains, so they are calling for an agreement.
Last year, when drafting amendments to the Income Tax Law, which taxes winnings from games of chance, the Ministry of Finance did not consult organizers or the NGO sector, and during the public debate it rejected most of the organizers' objections.
This law came into effect on January 1, but since there are no bylaws and the Ministry has not responded to organizers' questions, the taxation of winnings has not taken effect. Organizers are obliged to calculate this tax and collect it from their players, but they did not have bylaws on how to do so.
The ministry later this week invited the organizers to form a working group that should prepare bylaws and amendments to the law, so that the collection of tax on profits would be possible in some form.
The question of what the basis for calculating this tax is if it is calculated by deduction is controversial, and how it is calculated, because it should be winnings minus player expenses, but it is not known what player expenses are and how they are documented for all forms of games of chance.
The obligation of preparers under the law is to submit reports to the Tax Administration on how much tax they have collected by February 15th, or they will be formally in violation.
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