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Slovenia – Slovenia’s National Assembly vetoes sports betting bill

A sports-betting bill that would have revolutionised online betting in Slovenia has been kicked into touch by the National Assembly.

There were high hopes that the bill, put forward by MP Branko Zorman, would be approved but a sudden about turn saw it fail to secure the necessary number of votes.

In a re-vote by the Slovenian lower house, the National Assembly, the sports-betting licensing bill needed a majority of 46 votes but only got 35 with 26 members voting against it. Mr. Zorman has subsequently left his position within the ruling Modern Centre Party. Currently only the national lottery Loterija Slovenije and Sportna Loterija are permitted to offer games of chance online.

Mr. Zorman had claimed that the current monopoly was ‘artificial’ as international operators currently accounted for around 85 per cent of Slovenia’s online betting revenue.

In March the National Assembly had cast an unexpected vote to allow EU-based operators to apply for online sports betting licenses.