When the Albanian government finalized the ban on gambling in 2019, the official narrative promised to uproot a social plague that had filled every street corner in Albania.
Të lidhura
None found
At that time, there was no neighborhood without two or three betting shops, some of them near schools or places frequented by minors.
Seven years later, the Albanian government is preparing to legalize online sports betting again, which despite legal bans, has continued to operate informally.
After the law was passed in Parliament in 2024, the Ministry of Finance told BIRN that all by-laws have now been approved and the regulatory framework is considered complete.
“The system is ready from a legal standpoint, but the licensing competition has not yet been officially opened,” the ministry stated in a written response.
The new legislation promises the issuance of no more than 10 licenses to operators offering online platforms, with the essential requirement that these operators freeze a capital of at least 120 million lekë 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 the betting industry completely unprepared to manage the inevitable addiction crisis — one of the main reasons this industry was temporarily outlawed.
The shift of gambling from physical outlets to a mobile phone screen turns it into a danger with unlimited 24-hour access in everyone’s pocket.
“Legalization does not create addiction, but it increases access to an activity that is potentially very dangerous for a part of the population,” 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 players and their families were among the main objectives of the law, but admitted that the law does not create any special scheme for these individuals.
Question marks over licenses
The gambling sector in Albania has fluctuated between anarchic liberalization and radical prohibition. The complete closure of 2019, as a continuation of the so-called “End of Madness” operation, outlawed a market that operated with over 4,000 physical outlets.
However, the legal ban did not erase gambling, but pushed it into the underground of informality and control by criminal networks, where neighborhood cafes turned into hidden collection points.
The entry into force of the new law is seen as an opportunity to emerge from illegality, although criticism is not lacking over 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 taken by the Licensing Commission” and only after this commission decides will AMLF publish the official call for applications.
Endri Meksi, a business invested for years in formalizing gambling, estimates that the black market for betting has an annual turnover of 2.5 billion euros and its formalization would bring about 20-22 million euros per year to the budget.
Nevertheless, Meksi is disappointed by the lack of institutional communication and the fact that no one yet has clarity on what will happen.
“The Minister of Finance is totally absent in this story, he doesn’t comment on anything,” said Meksi, implying uncertainty about the number of licenses that will be initially issued in the market.
“The Licensing Commission is the one that decides and can open a maximum of 10 licenses for competition, but it can open competition for one license. In that case, we would have a monopoly. It can open for three, let’s say, almost an oligopoly,” Meksi added.
Opposition representatives also think that the formal legal framework is hiding the core of a deeply clientelist scheme.
According to Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku, the law was passed before the state was truly ready for its implementation. Tabaku believes the whole scheme is designed to serve the interests of the government and people linked to it.
“The problem is not just the existence of online betting. The problem is who will get the licenses, how the beneficial ownership of companies will be verified, the real source of capital, the connections among shareholders, and whether the competitive procedure will be open,” Tabaku stresses, adding that without transparency, “the terrain where clientelist interests, dubious capital, and government decision-making can meet” is created.
For the opposition MP, the control mechanism for this phenomenon that creates social problems “must be under full parliamentary and public oversight from day one.”
Alarm bell for addiction
Even though the new law was supposed to create mechanisms against gambling addiction, bettors will apparently always have their betting point with them.
Mental health experts view this as a risk of increased uncontrolled addiction, in a country where the treatment infrastructure for such cases is nonexistent.
Psychiatrist and psychotherapist Neli Demi warns that the exclusive “online” shift plays a much more dangerous role compared to physical outlets.
“From a clinical point of view, the shift from the physical betting point to the mobile phone changes the quality of exposure. If before you had to leave home, go to a betting point and this created some psychological ‘friction,’ now gambling can be in your pocket 24 hours a day,” Demi emphasizes.
This, according to him, increases the frequency of play, adds impulsivity—since the bet is placed within seconds—and reduces social control by the family, a significant risk factor especially for young people who are deeply connected to their devices.
Demi also stresses that the country lacks an organized system for treating these cases.
“We have no specialized centers for gambling addiction, no national rehabilitation programs, and most patients are treated within general mental health services or in private practice. This means that help exists, but it is fragmented and insufficient,” he added.
Demi appreciates some legal steps such as the electronic register for self-exclusion of players, but considers them minimal.
For its part, the Ministry insists that addiction will be combated through the legal mechanisms provided. Arguing protective measures, the institution cites that in addition to the national electronic register of excluded players, the law guarantees “player self-exclusion” and allows “the possibility for family members to request the blocking of a person’s access to gambling,” relying on new dedicated programs for player protection.
The Ministry also claims that a role will be played by 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.” But this appears to be on paper, as such counseling structures are almost nonexistent in the country./BIRN
