Albanian gambling bans now official

Albanian prime minister Edi Rama’s crusade to almost eliminate gambling in the Eastern European nation came to fruition this week when legislation passed by the parliament at the end of October (see previous reports) was signed into law by national president Ilir Meta.

Coming into force at the beginning of 2019, the new laws build on previous legislation which banned casino activity in residential areas, expanding the ban to the sports betting industry, including sportsbooks, slot machine parlours and all forms of online gambling.

There are also new restrictions of gambling advertising and provisions to beef up enforcement of existing laws regarding this aspect.

Exemptions to the bans are televised bingo games and the National Lottery.