Today, the Legislative Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro confirmed that the amendment to the Law on Concessions, which excludes games of chance from this regulation, is consistent with the Constitution and laws of Montenegro.

At the Legislative Committee session, Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović clarified that these amendments indicate that games of chance will no longer require concessions.

He noted that these changes are intended to align this law with the proposed Law on Games of Chance established by the Government in December of the previous year.

The proposed Law on Games of Chance, along with the amendment to the Law on Concessions, abolishes the previous practice of granting rights to organize events through concessions, shifting to a new model based on administrative approval, which also nullifies existing concessions.

Miloš Lalević, a representative of the Group of Game Operators from the Chamber of Commerce, explained that by removing game operators from the Concessions Law, related procedures are also eliminated.

“We are transitioning to a model that allows the right to organize games of chance through an administrative procedure. After submitting a request, state approval will be granted, which, according to the Draft Law, can be revoked on 54 different grounds. Furthermore, all contracts concluded will become null and void within 270 days of the law’s enactment, irrespective of their original terms. By eliminating this provision, an alternative model that has its own deficiencies is affirmed,” Lalević stressed.

The Law on Games of Chance and the corresponding amendments to the Law on Concessions are currently undergoing parliamentary review. Previously, MPs approved laws requiring organizers to calculate and collect taxes on winnings from games of chance from players, as well as to document and report any transaction from players exceeding 20 euros to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP).

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