BRATISLAVA, September 2, (WEBNOVINY) — Municipal councils can prohibit establishment of gambling rooms, casinos, betting shops or charitable lotteries in accordance with the new wording of the law on gambling effective as of September 1. Even stricter regulations will come into force as of 2013 when lottery machines and videogames will not be allowed to be placed in pubs but only in gambling houses with ban on smoking and alcohol consumption. Authors of the revision from the coalition KDH party hope that the new wording will curb conditions for occurrence of pathological gambling.
Based on the revised piece of legislation, the interval between individual games on a slot machine will be extended from three to four seconds. After a gambler wins a game, a new one will not start in less than 15 seconds after the previous session ends, in order to discourage gamblers from impulsive gambling. Also, pathological gamblers will be prohibited entry, if they or their relatives request it.
Entrepreneurs operating a gambling business in Slovakia warned before the amendment was approved that it would eliminate thousands of jobs and cause a shortfall of funds in budgets of municipalities and the state budget amounting to as much as EUR 40 million. They also disapprove of different regulations applying to gambling rooms and casinos since consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking will be allowed in casinos. The authors of the revision admit a certain drop in revenues but promote priority of the fight against pathological gambling.
SITA
