The Act on Games of Chance that came into force on December 2, 2011, allowed companies apart from the state-owned Državna Lutrija Srbije to offer games of chance. In this guide we present you the requirements a company has to meet in order to run a land-based casino or a slot parlour.
To be a licensed gaming operator, the company has to be registered in Serbia. According to the latest Act, an unlimited number of licenses can be issued for a 10-year period.
To set up a land-based casino, an operator is required to have initial capital of €1 million and a minimum deposit or bank guarantee of €300,000 along with a risk deposit of €50,000 per facility in a Serbian Bank.
- A licence will be obtained during the public tender process and here are some of the documents an operator will need to submit:
- Name and address of the company
- Information on capital and the registration of the company;
- A three-year business plan and a proof that officials have not been convicted of a criminal offence;
- A proof of at least five years’ experience in operating casinos;
- A proposal for the licence fee.
Setting up a Slot Parlour
Setting up a slot parlour and obtaining a 10-year renewable licence to operate it is less demanding. First and foremost, an operator is obliged to have a company registered in Serbia and initial capital of €150,000. A minimum deposit or bank guarantee of €300 along with a risk deposit of €100 per machine is required.
Each slot parlour must have at least 5 machine and all of them have to be connected to a central server system as of June 2012. The slot machines that are first put into operation in Serbia must not be older than one year.
Here are some of the needed documents:
- The probity of the officials;
- Balance sheets;
- The description of game types and rules with the technical inspection documents;
- A proof that the parlour is located more than 200 metres from a primary or secondary school;
- A proof of the ownership or lease of at least 100 machines and their locations.
According to the Act, the minimum payout rate of a slot machine must not be less than 80 percent. The slot machines have to be equipped with a device which enables the exchange of data with the Tax Department server. The device must be certified by the Military and Technical Institute.
