When the Albanian government finalized its gambling ban in 2019, the official narrative promised to root out a social scourge that had filled every street corner in Albania. At that time, there was no neighborhood without two or three betting shops, some of which were located near schools or places frequented by minors.
Seven years later, the Albanian government is preparing to re-legalize online sports betting, which despite legal prohibitions, has continued to operate informally.
Following the adoption of the law in Parliament in 2024, the Ministry of Finance told BIRN that all bylaws have now been approved and the regulatory framework is considered complete.
"The system is ready from a legal point of view, but the licensing competition has not yet officially opened," the ministry stated in a written response.
The new legislation promises to grant no more than 10 licenses to organizers offering online platforms, with the essential requirement that these operators raise a capital of at least 120 million lek as a guarantee for winners and have proven experience in Western countries.
Although the law promises a limited online betting market to enable strict state monitoring, the process has raised concerns about a lack of transparency and the risk of creating a monopoly market.
On the other hand, Albania is reopening its betting industry completely unprepared to manage the inevitable addiction crisis – one of the main reasons for the temporary outlawing of this industry.
The shift of gambling from physical points to the mobile screen turns it into a risk with unlimited access 24 hours a day in everyone's pocket.
"Legalization does not create addiction, but increases access to an activity that for a portion of the population is potentially very dangerous," says psychiatrist Neli Demi, who noted that the country had no specialized center and no national rehabilitation program, leaving the burden of addiction treatment entirely on the shoulders of families.
In response to BIRN's questions, the Ministry of Finance said that preventing gambling addiction and protecting gamblers and their families were among the main objectives of the law, but acknowledged that the law does not create any special scheme for these persons.
Questions about licenses
The gambling sector in Albania has oscillated between anarchic liberalization and radical prohibition. The complete closure in 2019 as a continuation of the so-called “Operation End of Folly” outlawed a market that operated with over 4000 physical outlets.
However, the legal ban did not erase gambling, but pushed it underground into informality and control by criminal networks, where neighborhood cafes became secret gathering points.
The entry into force of the new law is seen as an opportunity to break free from illegality, although there is no shortage of criticism for the government's marked lack of transparency regarding the competition process.
Currently, the competition has not yet opened. The Ministry of Finance said that "the decision to open the competition must be made by the Licensing Commission" and only after this commission expresses its opinion, the AMLF publishes the official announcement for applications.
Endri Meksi, a business invested in the formalization of gambling for years, estimates that the black betting market is estimated to have a turnover of 2.5 billion euros per year and its formalization would lead to a budget of around 20-22 million euros per year.
However, Meksi is disappointed by the lack of institutional communication and the fact that no one still has clarity about what will happen.
"The Minister of Finance is totally absent from this story, he doesn't comment on anything," said Meksi, implying uncertainty about the number of licenses that will initially be issued on the market.
"The licensing commission is the one who decides and can open a maximum of 10 licenses per competition, but it can open a competition for one license. In this case, we will have a monopoly. It can open for three, let's say, almost an oligopoly," Meksi added.
Opposition representatives also believe that the formal legal framework is hiding the essence of a deeply clientelist scheme.
According to Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku, the law was passed before the state was really prepared for its implementation. Tabaku believes that the entire scheme is designed to serve the interests of the government and those connected to it.
“The problem is not just the existence of online betting. The problem is who will obtain the licenses, how will the beneficial ownership of the companies, the real source of capital, the connections between shareholders and whether the competitive procedure will be open,” Tabaku emphasizes, adding that without transparency, “a terrain is created where clientelistic interests, dubious capital and government decision-making can meet.”
For opposition MPs, the mechanism for controlling this phenomenon that creates social problems "must be under full parliamentary and public supervision from day one."
Alarm bells for addiction
Although the new law was supposed to create mechanisms against gambling addiction, it seems that bettors will always have their betting points with them.
Mental health experts see this as a risk for increasing uncontrolled addiction, in a country where the infrastructure for treating these cases is non-existent.
Psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Neli Demi, warns that exclusive "online" access plays a much more dangerous role compared to physical outlets.
"From a clinical perspective, the shift from a physical betting point to a mobile phone changes the quality of exposure. If before you had to leave the house, go to a betting point and this created some psychological 'friction', now gambling can be in your pocket 24 hours a day," Demi points out.
This, he says, increases the frequency of play, increases impulsivity—since bets are placed within seconds—and reduces social control from the family, a serious risk factor especially for young people who are deeply connected to their devices.
Demi also points out that the country lacks an organized system for handling these cases.
"We have no specialist centres for gambling addiction, we have no national rehabilitation programmes and most patients are treated within general mental health services or in private practice. This means that help exists, but it is fragmented and not sufficient," he added.
Demi appreciates some legal steps such as the electronic registry for self-exclusion of players, but considers them to be minimal.
For its part, the Ministry insists that addiction will be combated through the legal mechanisms provided. Arguing on the protective measures, the institution cites that in addition to the national electronic registry of excluded players, the law guarantees “self-exclusion of the player” and allows “the possibility for family members to request the banning of a person’s access to games of chance”, relying on new programs dedicated to the protection of players.
The ministry also claims that the fact that “operators are obliged to publish information on the risks of addiction, the real chances of winning and the structures that offer counseling or treatment for people with gambling-related problems” will also play a role. But this seems to be on paper, as such counseling structures are almost non-existent in the country. /BIRN/
