MONTENEGRO Law and Practice Contributed by: Luka Popović and Milana Savović, BDK Advokati
must pay an annual fixed fee of EUR100,000 and a monthly fee equal to 10% of the base amount, calcu- lated as the total value of all tickets, slips, and cards sold, less the value of the prize fund.
with the system, without the need for direct involve- ment from the operator. 3.5 Key Offences The key offences stipulated under the Games of Chance Act are as follows: • enabling, registering, or permitting the participation of minors under the age of 18 in games of chance; • collecting stakes in Montenegro for participation in games of chance organised abroad; • selling, holding, issuing, marketing or otherwise presenting foreign lottery tickets and other foreign tickets for gambling in the territory of Montenegro; • organising games of chance in free zones; • organising games where participants pay a certain amount of money to participants who have already joined the game and expect payment of a certain amount of money from participants who will join the game later on (money chain and similar), as well as any other payments and promises of gains contrary to the aleatory nature of games of chance; • receiving payments at the cash desk, gaming table, self-service terminal, or online by third parties on behalf of the player; • organising casino games in residential-commercial buildings; • organising games of chance in contravention of the Games of Chance Act; • enabling the acceptance of bets for games of chance on behalf of and for the account of the operator, unless otherwise expressly provided by the Games of Chance Act; • allowing or enabling minors under the age of 18 to enter premises where games of chance are organ- ised; • allowing minors under the age of 18 to enter casinos, betting shops or gaming-machine shops, or to be registered as players on online gambling platforms; • organising games of a pyramidal nature (chain let- ters and similar activities); • organising prize games involving goods and servic- es in which the prize is paid in cash or other means of payment, or where such cash prize or means of payment constitutes an integral part of the prize;
3. Legislative Framework 3.1 Key Legislation
The key piece of legislation that regulates the gam- bling sector in Montenegro is the Games of Chance Act ( Zakon o igrama na sreću , “Official Gazette of Montenegro”, No 091/25). 3.2 Definition of Gambling A game of chance is defined as a game in which the participants have an equal opportunity to win a prize (in money, goods or services) against an indirect or direct payment of consideration, while the result of the game depends on chance or some uncertain event in the game. The notion of games of chance does not encompass: • quizzes, where the outcome depends on one’s knowledge; • entertainment games on computers, simulators, video game machines, and pinball and similar machines; or • billiards, darts and similar games, where the only prize can be one or more free games of the same kind. There are no guidelines regarding the extent to which the outcome of a game must depend on chance in order to be considered a game of chance, provided that it also encompasses the other two mandatory elements (the consideration and the prize). 3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gambling Montenegrin legislation does not provide for a special definition of land-based gambling. The general defini- tion of games of chance applies to any type of game and covers both online and land-based products. 3.4 Definition of Online Gambling A game of chance provided via the internet or other telecommunication means is defined as one in which the player can participate independently by interacting
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