For more than five years, licensed gambling operators in Montenegro have been subjected to intense and systematic pressure, while the illegal market has been growing unchecked. Despite having full knowledge of the situation, authorities have failed to conduct a single inspection of over 400 illegal land-based establishments or more than 500 unauthorized websites operating openly across the country.
This inaction marks an unprecedented shift — in the past 25 years, state neglect has never been this severe. Particularly troubling is the role of the Coordination Body for the Protection and Advancement of Public Interest in Games of Chance. Despite its stated purpose — to safeguard public interest, especially the protection of minors — since its first session on February 28, 2024, there have been no visible field actions, only bureaucratic meetings and regulatory rhetoric.
For the first time, the state is not only withdrawing from the fight against illegal gambling but is actively making it harder for legal operators to survive. While policies are publicly framed as measures to “protect children,” unlicensed operators — free from regulation, oversight, or tax obligations — continue to profit enormously.
This raises a critical question: who benefits from the Ministry of Finance’s current approach? Is the goal to drive the legal industry into bankruptcy, eliminate over 2,000 jobs, and create more space for illegal operators?
Unlike in previous administrations — where the will to tackle the grey market, albeit imperfectly, was never questioned — today we see no action against illegal gambling. Instead, legal operators are increasingly targeted by burdensome and discriminatory regulations.
If this trend continues, the only path forward for legal gambling operators may be to sue the state of Montenegro for damages caused by unlawful and biased policies.
This is not a minor administrative oversight — it’s a systemic failure that undermines the rule of law, market fairness, and the livelihoods of thousands. The law must apply equally to all. We demand answers. We demand action.
