The mere possession of slot machines, tables or other equipment used for organizing games without permission will be punishable by confiscation of that equipment and fines of 5.000 to 20.000 thousand euros, as stated in the proposal for new amendments to the Law on Games of Chance.
As stated in the explanatory memorandum to the proposal, it is now not prohibited to possess gaming equipment if the owner is not registered for that activity. That is, any legal or natural person can now possess this equipment, and the inspectorate could only fine them if they found players playing on it.
They point out that there have been cases where the inspection found tables or machines that were not registered for organizing games of chance, but could not prove that they were being used for illegal gambling.
In 2022, "Vijesti" wrote about one such case when an inspection of the illegal casino "Cattaro" in Kotor, owned by a businessman By Rada Arsić, found five roulette and poker tables, but since the owner said he didn't use them, he wasn't fined, despite the fact that there were photos on social media and in casino advertisements showing croupiers, chips, and players at those tables.
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The Ministry of Finance now believes that it will prevent such practices and that there will be no justification for owners or inspectors not to use the equipment for games of chance, but rather to simply own it.
"It is prohibited to keep slot machines, tables or other equipment used for organizing games of chance without the approval of the competent authority or contrary to the conditions under which the approval was granted. In this way, in addition to the unauthorized organization, the possession of equipment for organizing games of chance is also prohibited. This way, the aim is to avoid ambiguities during inspection controls and possible court proceedings, i.e. the inability to determine whether games of chance are being organized on the equipment or not. In terms of violations of the norms of the Law, this provision equates the organization of games on the equipment and its possession," the explanation states.
This is the third amendment to the Law on Games of Chance in the past three years. When a public debate was held two years ago on the then new Law on Games of Chance, one of the organizers' proposals was to ban the import of equipment for games of chance to anyone who is not registered as an organizer. They stated that in Montenegro they can freely buy and keep machines and tables for games of chance from those who are not registered organizers and who do not pay fees, which creates conditions for illegal gambling and unfair competition. The Ministry of Finance rejected these proposals at the time.
On November 25, 2021, “Vijesti” forwarded the information it had about the controversial “Cattaro” casino in Kotor to the then Inspection Affairs Administration - Gaming Inspectorate, as well as links to the website and photos of live gaming tables from social media. The following day, the Inspectorate responded “that it will verify the allegations and carry out an inspection, and we will inform you about the results of the inspection later.”
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There was a legal slot machine club called "Cattaro", but a separate passage led from it to a separate large room that contained roulette and poker tables (casino games) for which they were not registered.
In the links and photos that "Vijesti" sent to the inspection at the time, it was visible that the casino with those tables had been advertised since 2017, that the officially non-existent casino had been actively promoted on social media for five years, that the photos showed tables with chips, croupiers dealing chips, cards and spinning roulette, as well as a large number of players around the tables.
Only after several urgent requests in February 2022 did the inspection provide a response to "Vijesti" that it had found the space with five poker and roulette tables for which the organizer did not have a concession, but did not fine them because it determined that they were not using them.
"At the time of the inspection, as well as during two other inspections, the tables were not in operation, i.e. there were no players, croupiers, chips, money, etc., so no irregularities were found in these inspections, i.e. there was no need to take measures," the inspectorate said at the time.
The inspection then did not mention the photos and data from the organizer's website in its response, but they cited the manager's statement as evidence that the casino tables were not working.
"According to the manager of the slot machine club, the tables were brought to the slot machine club several years ago, when changes to the law on games of chance were announced and when they planned to register to organize games of chance in the casino, and given that the law has not been changed, the tables for games of chance in the casino have remained in the premises of the facility," the Inspectorate's response stated.
After "Vijesti" sent questions to the Inspectorate, photos and advertisements of the illegal casino were removed from the website and social networks. According to this data, the illegal casino had been operating for at least five years, during which time it was supposed to pay the state concessions of at least 2,3 million euros.
The owner and director of this company is the well-known Tivat businessman Rado Arsić, who is involved in construction, hotel management, catering, games of chance... He was a partner in several businesses. Aca Đukanović, brother of the then president of the country Milo Đukanović, and has joint business with Miloš Medenica, son of the former Supreme State Prosecutor and former President of the Supreme Court Vesne Medenica.
The new proposed amendments to the law provide for entire procedures for organizers to deregister existing slot machines, tables, and other equipment for organizing games of chance, in order to ensure that they do not end up on the illegal market.
Deadline for re-registration until November 11, unclear transition period
The proposed amendments to the Law on Games of Chance extend the deadline for switching the method of organizing games of chance from concession to granting rights in an administrative procedure, for another six months, or until November 11, 2026.
The new method introduces rigorous rules for player registration, more cash flow controls, and thus higher costs and obligations for organizers.
It is not clear from the proposed changes how this transition period will proceed, that is, in the next six months there will be organizers who have switched to the obligations of the new law, newly opened facilities that must operate according to the new provisions, and existing organizers who are waiting until the last moment to switch to the new way of working.
Organizers who have already switched to a new way of working may be in trouble, because due to complicated registration procedures, players may avoid them and go to those who have not yet implemented these procedures.
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