Europe

Political tensions are mounting in the Republic of Slovakia as debate intensifies over the governance, conduct, and social responsibility of the country’s gambling sector.

Leading the charge is Sports and Tourism Minister Rudolf Huliak, who has called on members of the National Council to back his proposed amendments to the Slovak Gambling Law.

Introduced in 2019 to licence and liberalise Slovakia’s online gambling market, the current law, Huliak argues, was designed to favour operators over citizen protections. This week, he introduced amendments that aim to “regulate, not promote, gambling.”

The proposals include restrictive measures targeting vulnerable groups, including individuals on social benefits, those in alimony arrears, and citizens who have failed to meet tax obligations.

Rudolf Huliak
We are not here to enable the gambling industry — we are here to control it,” said Huliak. “Illegal operators exploit loopholes, target vulnerable citizens, and funnel profits offshore. Meanwhile, regulated platforms face burdensome compliance with little competitive protection. That’s unsustainable.”

Huliak has also called for an expanded role for TIPOs, the national lottery company, in channelling gambling revenues into public and social initiatives.

Our goal is a clean, accountable, and socially responsible gambling environment. Strengthening TIPOS is not about state control for its own sake — it’s about ensuring that profits generated from gambling are reinvested in Slovak communities, not lost to foreign markets or shadow platforms.

This amendment is the first step in realigning the system toward public interest, rather than private enrichment.”

Tax shortfall must be answered
However, his proposals have drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties — particularly the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH). The party accuses Huliak of posturing as a reformer while serving the interests of the gambling lobby and avoiding deeper questions around tax fairness and consumer protection.

The tax rate for fixed-odds betting in Slovakia stands at 22% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) for online operators and 6% of turnover for land-based venues — in addition to a 21% corporate VAT.

The KDH has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the distribution and transparency of gambling tax revenues, demanding answers as to how operators collected €1.4 billion from €24 billion in wagers, yet contributed only €340 million in taxes in 2024.

“This is a mockery of social justice,” KDH states, accusing Huliak of posturing whilst being aware of tax shortfalls but refuses to address them.”

Gambling dysfunctions exposed
A damning audit from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) and a comprehensive report by the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling (IPRHH) have further eroded confidence in the current regulatory regime.

The IPRHH’s Black Book of Illegal Gambling reveals a fragmented system failing to keep pace with the proliferation of digital, unlicensed gambling platforms — many of which allow anonymous betting, no age verification, and unlimited stakes.

Startlingly, 31% of Slovak youth aged 15–17 reported gambling online illegally, with early exposure linked to addiction and long-term debt risks. The report also highlights the growing influence of loot boxes in video games and social media influencers promoting offshore casinos, blurring the lines between entertainment and exploitation.

The SAO report found that enforcement failures were largely due to a lack of capacity. Between 2019 and 2025, the Gambling Authority (ÚRHH) let over 900 cases lapse due to missed deadlines — a consequence of having just one employee managing sanctions during that period.

A further legal loophole allows gambling halls to operate in municipalities that have banned them unless local authorities notify the regulator within five days — a provision the SAO labelled “unreasonable and dysfunctional.”

“Regulated operators are held to high standards — but that only works if unlicensed providers face real consequences. Right now, they don’t,” said Dávid Lenčéš, Executive Director of IPRHH.

Changing of regulatory guard

Calls for reform have gained further traction following a change in leadership at Office of Gambling Regulation (ÚRHH), with Director General Martin Bohoš stepping down and replaced by Jana Mravíková in early 2025.

Upon leaving office, Bohoš recommended a full review of the Gambling Act, six years after its implementation. He highlighted the urgent need for stronger consumer protections in online casino and high-risk games, warning of an “increasing divergence” in player behaviour — with Slovak consumers flocking disproportionately to online casino products over other verticals.

“Urgency is needed,” he said, citing data showing a steep rise in unregulated activity and insufficient safeguards in the current framework.

The Dutch Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has confirmed that no gambling sponsorships will be allowed during next weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

The move comes under strict new legislation introduced last month which prohibits advertising for sports betting apps not regulated in the Netherlands.

The KSA has reached out to event organisers and sports bodies to ensure that no teams, domestic or international, compete with visible gambling branding.

A forced rebrand
For Stake, the online casino and sports betting operator holding title sponsorship of Sauber Motorsport, this represents a major challenge.

Stake F1’s C45 race cars, driven by Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, are usually plastered with the company’s matte green and black branding.

For Zandvoort, the team will compete under the name Stake F1 Team Kick, using the streaming service Kick to replace Stake branding for Dutch viewers while retaining its team name.

Challenges due to its betting association are nothing new for the Swiss-based team, which has implemented similar branding swaps in Belgium last month and in previous races in Spain, Australia and Qatar when regulatory restrictions applied.

Unlike last year, when the KSA’s informal request allowed Stake-branded cars to run at the Dutch Grand Prix, the regulator now requires measures such as geo-blocking to prevent Dutch fans from accessing the betting platform.

Stake has also been expanding its sponsorship portfolio, recently becoming the official betting partner for esports organisation Team Vitality.

Further monitoring
The Netherlands continues to clamp down on its betting rules, with the KSA also recently warning TonyBet for offering football betting markets that breached Dutch law.

The operator offered bets on the Ballon d’Or winner and the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Boot. However, the country prohibits these types of wagers, as the outcomes are determined by votes or jury decisions rather than measurable results from official sporting competitions.

Looking ahead
The KSA has signalled that enforcement action will continue across the sector, with automated checks of all active licence holders’ Control Databases (CDBs) ongoing.

Operators are being reminded to review all sponsorship and marketing activity carefully and to seek guidance from the regulator to avoid further breaches. The KSA also states that it has monitored the situation in neighbouring Belgium, where a similar ban on sponsorship was introduced by some firms and football clubs have found ways to get around it.

This approach underlines the Netherlands’ broader commitment to tightening controls over gambling advertising and compliance in the coming months, with a range of new regulatory conditions likely after the October elections conclude.

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The battle against illegal gambling is becoming a global challenge as digital tech creates an environment for iGaming to prosper, according to Viktoriya Zakrevskaya, Founding Member and Deputy Chair of the Ukrainian Gambling Council (UGC).

Writing for SBCEurasia, she underpinned the importance of a comprehensive approach and flexibility in adapting to technological changes in the modern environment.

There are prevalent obstacles when it comes to detecting and subsequently tackling illegal sites, challenges only elevated by the prevalence of digital currencies in the offshore environment. As well as this, social media is tapped into to generate traffic.

She emphasised: “To counter these challenges, countries around the world are implementing innovative approaches that combine technological, regulatory, and social measures. In particular, Argentina is restricting access to gambling websites via public Wi-Fi networks.

“For this purpose, enhanced authorisation, identification, and verification [KYC – Know Your Customer] procedures are used, which require confirmation of age and identity before accessing platforms.

“Public Wi-Fi providers are required to block illegal websites using filters based on blacklists provided by the regulator. This approach reduces the accessibility of illegal platforms in public places, such as cafes or libraries, where minors are often present. The Argentine experience demonstrates the importance of cooperation between regulators and ISPs to limit access to illegal content.”

She pinpointed the efforts being made in Indonesia, where the government has undergone major efforts to strangle gambling market engagement.

At the heart of these efforts have been tapping into financial supervision tools, which blocked banking tools linked with the gambling market, which is illegal in Indonesia.

She continued: “In the United States, where gambling regulation is decentralised and depends on the laws of individual states, illegal websites are multiplying twice as fast as licensed ones [+64% vs. +36% as of 2024]. More than 80% of users see ads for illegal platforms, which often operate through offshore companies and use cryptocurrencies for transactions.

“To combat these challenges, the United States is working to regulate cryptocurrencies, impose restrictions on the use of offshore companies for the registration of gambling business organisers, and require IT giants to strengthen advertising moderation to limit the promotion of illegal sites in search engines and social networks. The US experience shows that the decentralised model of countering illegal gambling requires coordination at different levels: between the federal centre and the states; directly between the states; and between the federal centre, states, and IT companies.”

The regulator in Ukraine collaborates with Meta tackling Instagram accounts of bloggers who promote illegal online casinos through stories, showing fake “winnings” and leaving active links to banned sites.

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An independent report and audit detail that regulatory inconsistencies and fragmented enforcements have ceded the gambling market to unlicensed operators growing their scope in targeting Slovak consumers.

In Slovakia, questions are being raised about how effective the government is in tackling growing exposure to illegal gambling, which calls into question the policies enacted by the Valda (Parliament).

Concerns about the growing encroachment and engagement with black market operators have been raised by a damning audit from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) and a detailed report published by the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling (IPRHH) an independent research agency on gambling.

Black Book of liabilities
Titled the Čierna kniha nelegálneho hazardu (Black Book of Illegal Gambling), by the IPRHH, its report presents the most comprehensive account yet of Slovakia’s growing vulnerability to illicit gambling.

Insights reveal a fragmented regulatory system that has failed to keep pace with a shadow industry that has gone digital with day-to-day engagements with national consumers.

The report identifies two key fronts: unlicensed online platforms and the growing infiltration of gambling mechanisms into mainstream digital culture. It estimates that the majority of illegal gambling activity in Slovakia now occurs online, facilitated by platforms that offer: Unlimited bet sizes, anonymous payments and zero identity verification.

The IPRHH describes this as gambling that has “moved from arcades into living rooms,” beyond the reach of any meaningful state control. The consequences are acute: minors, excluded players, and individuals receiving social assistance are all regularly able to access and spend money on these platforms.

Among youth aged 15–17, 31% reported having gambled online illegally, according to a 2023 IPSOS survey cited in the report. The findings further show that early exposure has lasting effects: individuals who began gambling before age 18 were four times more likely to develop gambling addiction and twice as likely to face debt collection before age 30.

The report also takes aim at so-called “loot boxes” embedded in video games — randomised digital rewards purchasable with real money. It labels them a “gateway drug to gambling,” particularly dangerous because of subtle integration into games popular with children.

Social media platforms add to the problem. Influencers are increasingly paid by offshore casinos to promote unlicensed platforms on TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. These endorsements often depict gambling as glamorous, low-risk, and rewarding—distorting reality for young audiences. The IPRHH warns that these trends “erode the line between entertainment and exploitation.”

Technologically, the state is struggling to keep up. The report criticises the slow pace of enforcement and the overreliance on manual IP blocking. “The system is neither fast enough nor technologically capable to respond to the speed of illegal digital gambling,” the authors conclude.

Audit confirms the diagnosis
The SAO’s findings suggest that regulation is failing not because of bad policy, but because of non-enforcement. Between 2019 and 2025. URHH the Gambling Authority of Slovakia issued more than 600 fines — but allowed over 900 cases to expire without action, as deadlines lapsed. The root cause? Until recently, only one employee managed sanctions enforcement.

“It is not so clear why some received a fine of several thousand, and others avoided sanctions altogether,” admitted Ľubomír Andrassy, Head of the SAO. “There was no internal process. In many cases, the authority simply ran out of time.”

The audit also revealed a legislative loophole that allows gambling halls to continue operating for up to five years, even in municipalities that have banned them, if the local government fails to notify the regulator within five days. The SAO described this as “unreasonable and dysfunctional.”

Gambling is a lucrative business for the Slovak state. From 2018 to 2024, gambling contributed €1.8bn to the budget. Municipalities collected another €113m in licensing fees. In 2024 alone, online casinos generated €126m, up from less than €3m in 2019—largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove players online during the closure of land-based venues.

But this growth came without guardrails. The state “has no strategy to protect young people or addicts,” the SAO concluded. According to Lenčéš, “We are regulating the margins while ignoring the core problem. Without personnel, without tools, and without strategic direction, regulation becomes theatre.”

Dávid Lenčéš
Blunt enforcements
More than 54% of gambling activity in Slovakia now takes place online. Yet much of that occurs outside the bounds of the legal market. Illegal websites, often tailored for Slovak users with local language, support, and branding, offer frictionless access to high-stakes gambling without registration or restrictions.

Children can play. Addicts can relapse. And there are no limits, no age checks, and no oversight. According to the IPRHH, many platforms even simulate legitimate design features to lull players into a false sense of security.

“Regulated operators are held to high standards,” says Dávid Lenčéš, executive director of the IPRHH, “but that only works if unlicensed providers face real consequences. Right now, they don’t.”

These sites evade detection using VPNs, anonymous payments, and rapidly shifting web domains. Enforcement becomes a game of digital whack-a-mole that the state is losing.

ÚRHH focuses on blocking access to known illegal websites — through DNS filtering and cooperation with internet providers. But without more powerful tools, and with slow identification procedures, this tactic has proved insufficient.

“Blocking IPs is a blunt instrument,” says one analyst familiar with the enforcement framework. “The platforms adapt in hours. The regulators take weeks.”

Can regulatory incoherence be fixed?
At present, Slovakia’s gambling sector is increasingly characterised by contradictions. The government profits from legal gambling, while failing to contain its illegal cousin. It demands strict compliance from licensed firms, while tolerating systemic non-compliance from unlicensed ones.

The lesson from the IPRHH and SAO is sobering: it is not prohibition that fuels black markets, but regulatory incoherence. And unless Slovakia aligns its policy ambitions with the realities of the digital era, it may soon find that the market has already slipped beyond its reach.