The Finance Ministry of Slovakia has published a “blacklist” with the first 10 names of online betting operators that have not gained the approval of local gaming regulatory authorities.
The “blacklist” includes some big brand names of the gambling industry, such as: Bet365, William Hill, Bet-at-Home, 1xbet and 888 Holdings. Along with them, are Eatsleepbet (Curacao-lincensed) and the LVbet and Kajot-casino.com (both Malta-licensed).
The Slovak authorities announced a crackdown on illegal gambling and their intention to pressure gambling sites who are allegedly violating the law, to shut down.
Seventeen sites were found not to be compliant with the regulations, with two of them ending their services voluntarily. Five others took a ten-day deadline to end their operations, lest they get punished.
The black listed domains are not officially blocked, but it is projected to happen in the coming weeks. Local internet service providers are reportedly frustrated with these changes and have made their complaints known to the government.
The Finance Ministry of Slovakia wants to ensure that Slovakian Banks will not process any payments for the operators who have found themselves in the “Blacklist”.
Ending up, it has to be mentioned that a lot of international brand names have already exited Slovakia because of the prohibitive 27% tax rate on international operators’ gross revenue. At present, online casino and poker are controlled by the state-owned TIPOS national lottery.