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Serbia – The State Of Land-Based And Online Casinos

Successive socialist governments have taken a dim view of all gambling activities in the past. But now that Serbia is eyeing EU membership, they want to bring their casino industry into the 21st century. Being a tiny country, there are just 2 land-based casinos, with both being in the capital, Belgrade. Then there are a huge number of slots clubs, which require a membership to play in. But the vast majority of Serbian gamblers simply gamble at foreign online casinos using their trusty VPNs.

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Serbian Online Casinos

Just as in virtually all countries around the world gambling in Serbia has always been a popular hobby. Between 1964 and 2011, the State Lottery controlled all gambling. And what was interesting is that Serbs were banned from their own casinos. In Serbia today there are just two legal brick and mortar casinos. And you can find both of them in the capital Belgrade. This means that there are not many opportunities to play casino games in the country. But when it comes to slot machines, you can find these everywhere along with the National Lottery and sportsbooks.

Serbia, unlike many other countries, has a positive view of gambling throughout its society. You’ll even find TV programs solely focussing on gambling games such as “TV Bingo” and “Lotto 7/39.” All foreign casinos are banned from the country unless they happen to have a Serbian gaming licence. The truth of the matter is that most Serbian players play at foreign-based casinos to win the jackpot using a VPN.

The History of Gambling in Serbia

Since 1964, when Serbia was still part of Yugoslavia, gambling was licensed. The idea was that the industry might bring in extra money from tourism from the surrounding Socialist countries. At the time, the government had a low opinion of gambling and therefore banned all Serbian nationals from entering casinos. As you’d expect, the problem with this is that it drove all gambling underground. In fact, before 2011, all gambling activity was without any form of regulation, with many underground gambling dens hiding around the country. The government was able to bring this clandestine industry towards legality by introducing a low tax on casino operators’ earnings, providing their service was legal within the country. At the same time, they also blocked all offshore ISPs in 2020.

Is Gambling Legal in Serbia?

Online gambling has been legal in Serbia since 2004. This was brought about by a new government act called the Games of Chance Act. This allowed all forms of gambling and betting, from casino jackpot games to sportsbooks. As with most jurisdictions around the world, the legal age for gambling is 18. By 2020, the government realised that it might be a good idea to encourage some foreign casino operators to bring their business into the country. As a result, Serbian players can play at 12 online casinos which have a license to operate within Serbia. But stepping back for a larger view, there are over 170 offshore casinos that are perfectly happy to accept Serbian players, along with their deposits and payouts. These include 22Bet Casino which is happy to receive and payout in Serbian dinar.

The Serbian Online Casinos Regulators

All gambling and betting activities in Serbia fall under the regulation of the Games of Chance Administration (Uprava za igre na srecu), which forms part of the tax administration (Poreska Uprava). And this in turn falls under the Serbian Ministry of Finance. Because Serbia is desperate to join the EU, successive governments have been trying to regulate the whole gambling industry to bring it in line with EU standards. An interesting fact is that the Serbian Gaming Board uses the Scientific Research Department of the Serbian military as a means of testing their games for fairness. Another fact is that the Red Cross of Serbia receives 40% of all the collective revenue from the proceeds of gambling and betting from both sportsbooks and casinos.

Online Casinos Licences In Serbia

The Serbian Gaming Board is tasked with licensing all gambling activities in the country. One important requirement and condition of licensing is that the casino needs to be physically situated within Serbia. This means that all servers for online casinos and sportsbooks must be physically in Serbia itself. Unfortunately, in spite of the best efforts from the Serbian government, only two licenced land-based casinos have opened shop since the new law passed in 2020. Even though this law actually allows up to 10 casinos, no other casino companies show interest.

If you’re interested in applying for a licence, for either a land-based or internet-based casino, then it will cost you $2,500 and is valid for 10-years. You’ll also need to have a minimum in the bank of at least $1 million. Then there’s going to be the minimum deposit guarantee of $300,000. All these monies must be deposited within a Serbian bank. Other licensing conditions include a 3-year business plan, proof of the probity of the directors, a schedule for tax payments and finally a minimum of 5 years of casino industry experience. When it comes to tax payments, then online casinos will pay 50%, whereas land-based casinos pay 10%.

Casino Games Played In Serbia

Playtech was one of the first game’s operators to get ahead of the marketplace in 2009. Back in those days or gambling activity fell under the state lottery provider, Državna Lutrija Srbije. Playtech was able to team up with this organisation and provide the games across all casinos in Serbia. Today things are very different and you can find all the best jackpot game providers including NetEnt, Wazdan, Endorfina, Evolution and Microgaming. As for the casino games, you’ll find all your favourites including blackjack, bingo, casino craps, scratch cards, video poker, Texas Holdem, slots, Caribbean stud poker, roulette and Sic Bo.

Casino table games are only available in casinos. But for playing the slots, you can find 19 licence slots clubs. You can find all of them in Belgrade. Between them, they boast 17,5000 slot machines. You’ll also find that these are membership establishments. They all offer regular slots tournaments. But you don’t need to go to slot clubs to find slots, as they are freely available everywhere in all bars and pubs. Slots are incredibly popular in Serbia for exactly the same reason they are popular in the West. Let’s face it, they are easy to play, with zero skills required from the player. All you need to know is the gameplay and the rules and have a set budget. Because all the jackpot slots belong to internationally renowned games providers, then many offer massive life-changing progressive jackpots.

Bonuses At Serbian Online Casinos

Thanks to two slots being the most popular casino game in the country then it’s no surprise that the favoured bonus is going to be free spins. Essentially this allows for greater free play and if the gambler meets the weight requirements, they can in some cases, actually withdraw winnings, without first making a deposit. In other words the “free spins no deposit bonus.”

Next on the list of bonuses is the traditional welcome bonus. This too, will more often than not include free spins. Then we have the “cash-back bonus” which really is a feature you’ll find more at sportsbooks. It is possible for casino gamblers to see some funds returned from their losses, but much will depend on the casino’s terms and conditions. Also, we should point out that in many cases, bonuses have a direct connection to a casino’s loyalty program. Our favourite online casino, 22Bet Casino gives out a great welcome bonus of 122% up to €300, which is going to be a big help to increase your jackpot winning chances.

Serbian Mobile Casinos

All Serbian casinos will offer online gaming for mobile platforms. One of the main reasons for this is that mobile gambling was gradually picking up steam as online gambling in Serbia was becoming legalised. As a result, all 7 casinos will have their own apps which will function on both iOS and Android. You simply have to make your way to their respective app stores. Although some will function using Flash, the majority are in HTML5. This allows the player to simply type the URL into the address bar and start playing instantly. Today all the playing functions come with perfect optimisation for the small portable screen. And all these apps offer an immersive playing experience. Also, they are easy to navigate, with excellent graphics to boot.

Foreign Casinos In Serbia

This is rather a grey area as brick-and-mortar casinos, as well as their online brethren will need both a physical presence and the country, as well as a Serbian gaming licence. As previously mentioned, in 2012 a special decree came from the Serbian Gaming Board. This is to block all foreign casino IP addresses. Then in 2020, a newly updated list of 70 major foreign casinos was banned. This means that from my legal point of view, all foreign casinos are off-limits. But the law is not so strict as to stop players from making use of VPNs.

What’s more, they’re even able to use their Serbian banking details in order to both make deposits and receive funds. There has never been any punitive action against either the players or operators. Or even all the Serbian banks who are receiving funds, then it’s all rather a mixed message. So if you happen to be visiting Serbia, and fancy a go to win the jackpot online, then we suggest you simply fire up your laptop and use a VPN to start gambling at online casinos.