Gambling in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Gambling in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina offers various gambling options, with gambling widely available although under governmental control and regulation. The State of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the two mostly autonomous regions, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. As a result, there are two separate gambling structures in the country.

Regulation.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska have their own gambling laws and regulators.

The Law on Games of Chance (Zakon o igrama na sreću) 2019 regulates gambling business in Republika Srpska.

The Republican Gambling Authority (Републичка управа за игре на срећу), which is a part of the Ministry of Finance, is the official gambling regulator in Republika Srpska.

The Republican Gambling Authority grants licenses and monitors compliance with the laws and regulations in the gambling sector (http://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Vlada/Ministarstva/mf/OM/RU/RUIS/Pages/default.aspx#collapsible0).

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina regulates gambling under the Law on Games of Chance (Zakon o igrama na sreću) 2015 (http://www.pufbih.ba/v1/public/upload/zakoni/2d99b-zakon-o-igrama-na-srecu-preciscen-ispravan-tekst.pdf). The Ministry of Finance regulates all forms of gambling within this part of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina (http://www.fmf.gov.ba/v2/search.php?keyword=sre%C4%87u).

Land Based Gambling

Gambling is very popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The minimum gambling age in the country is 18. National lotteries, casino games, and sports betting are allowed.

Casinos

Land-based casinos operate in the capital cities of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo and Banja-Luka). All casinos offer popular table games and numerous slot machines. They accept BAM and EUR. People under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering a casino. Personal documents must be shown for age verification.

Slot Halls

Besides casinos, slot halls, or electronic casinos, operate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They offer various slot machines and electronic roulettes.

Online Gambling

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska also have their own regulations when it comes to online gambling.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina tried to regulate online gaming in 2013 by prohibiting players from joining online casinos registered abroad and blocking foreign gambling websites. However, the ban was lifted after the public pressure. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not issued any online gaming licenses yet.

The government of Republika Srpska started licensing online gambling in 2011, when the first license was granted to Williams, a land-based bookmaker and slot club operator which offers sports betting online (https://wwin-ba.com/bs/). The new law strictly regulates online gambling and issuing licenses to operate online.