North Macedonia has placed online gambling under a state monopoly. The Assembly adopted a new Act on Games of Chance and Entertainment Games on 29 June 2026, and it entered into force on 14 July, replacing a framework in place since 2011. Under the law, the right to run lottery, electronic and online games of chance belongs to the state and will be exercised through a company in which the state is the sole shareholder.
This ends a system that had allowed private participation. Under the previous regime, electronic and online games could be organised by a company with at least 51% state capital and decision-making rights. The new act removes the private minority stake entirely, leaving the organising right with a wholly state-owned company.
What the monopoly covers
Private operators are not shut out completely. For electronic and internet games, the state-owned company can engage external legal entities chosen through a public call. According to law firm BDK Advokati, that means private contractors may supply technology, content or operational services under competitively awarded contracts, while the organising licence stays with the state. Closed-type raffles are the one lottery segment left outside the monopoly.
The move runs against the grain elsewhere in Europe, where Austria is preparing to end its online monopoly and Hungary’s government is reviewing the Szerencsejatek Zrt monopoly.
A staggered handover
The switch is not immediate. Transitional provisions let the existing organiser of electronic games keep operating under the old law until 31 December 2026 at the latest. The state-owned company is due to begin organising electronic games on its own by 1 January 2027. Existing operators have six months from 14 July to meet the new advertising and reputation rules, and a year to meet cumulative share capital requirements and premises fees.
Higher costs across the board
The act raises the financial burden. The internet gambling licence, previously issued for four years at EUR 50,000, now runs for ten years at EUR 200,000. The monthly fee for electronic games rises from EUR 30 to EUR 200 per terminal. Monthly duties on internet games replace a flat 0.5% levy on total payments with 6% of total payments for lottery games and 15% of the difference between stakes and payouts, effectively gross gaming revenue (GGR), for electronic and special games.
Advertising and player rules tighten
Exterior advertising on gambling premises is capped at 30 cm by 100 cm, except for casinos within 3 km of the border, and illuminated signage is banned. The law prohibits advertising that frames gambling as a route to social acceptance, personal or financial success, or a solution to economic or personal problems, along with celebrity endorsements and any material aimed at minors. Media advertising must state that participation is barred for under-18s and that gambling can cause addiction.
Online operators face a heavier compliance load: a registered .mk domain, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 27701 certification, SSL, high-assurance electronic identification of players, and payment routing through banks based in North Macedonia. Winnings must be paid out only through those banks, and within five working days of a request. Existing safeguards stay in place: one account per player, no credit to players, segregated player funds, and self-exclusion and limit tools.
GPS tracking, school buffers and fit-and-proper tests
Two of the strictest measures are deferred to 1 January 2028: mandatory GPS tracking on every gaming machine and video lottery terminal, linked to the Public Revenue Office, and a 500-metre minimum distance from primary and secondary schools for casino, slot and electronic gaming premises. The venue limits track a wider regional trend, after Romania passed a decree that gave cities the power to ban gambling venues.
The act also introduces fit-and-proper criteria for managers, shareholders and partners of licence holders, with loss of good reputation an express ground for revocation. Promotional giveaways, including social media contests based on likes, tags or shares, now need a Ministry of Finance permit and a fee of 18% of the prize fund.
What happens next
Industry bodies have called the framework detrimental and warned it could put jobs at risk. The government has presented it as a modernisation measure to protect minors, curb the grey economy and tighten supervision, while keeping an annual earmark of 60 to 120 million denars for disability organisations, groups fighting domestic violence and the Red Cross of North Macedonia. The immediate test is operational: the state-owned company must be ready to run electronic games by January 2027, and much of the detail, including how reputation is assessed, still rests on secondary legislation the finance minister has yet to issue.
Source: Assembly of North Macedonia
