NKU: €350 mn Obtained for State Budget from Gambling Last Year

Bratislava, 25 July (TASR) - Last year, €350 million flowed into the state budget via levies on gambling, the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) reported on Friday. The amount collected from levies on online gambling has exploded in recent years, going up from less than €3 million in 2019 to €126 million last year. Concerning local governments, their incomes from gambling decreased from €21 million in 2018 to less than €13 million last year. "Stricter rules for gambling ultimately haven't reduced the pitfalls associated with gambling, they've only moved them from brick-and-mortar outlets to the internet, often directly into the player's home environment. The coronavirus pandemic and the restrictive measures taken in this connection, which closed brick-and-mortar outlets for a long time, partly contributed towards the transition of gambling to the online space," stated NKU. Despite the growing incomes from gambling, the state doesn't have a comprehensive concept in this area and is failing to adequately address the prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of vulnerable groups, such as young or compulsive gamblers, stated NKU. It noted that the Gambling Regulatory Authority issued more than 600 fines for violations of the Gambling Act between 2019 and 2025. Incomes from gambling reached €1.8 billion in total between 2018-2024. The biggest share of it came from incomes from administrative fees for providing individual licences, accounting for €96 million. Local government incomes from gambling totalled €113 million in the above period. ko/df