Gambling Regulatory Authority

Basic data

The Gambling Regulatory Authority was established on 1 March 2019 based on Act No. 30/2019 Coll. on gambling games and on the amendment to certain acts. As of 1 June 2019, the state administration in the field of gambling was transferred from the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic, tax authorities and customs offices to the Gambling Regulatory Authority.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority is a state-budget funded organisation with its revenues and expenditures connected to the state budget through the budget chapter of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic with the sphere of authority for the entire territory of the Slovak Republic. The Gambling Regulatory Authority is based in Bratislava. On 1 June 2019, for the purpose of supervision, the Gambling Regulatory Authority, with the approval of the Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic, established six workplaces, which have the status of units within the Department of Supervision and Control. The workplaces of the Gambling Regulatory Authority are located in Bratislava, Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov and Košice.

The main mission of the Gambling Regulatory Authority is to create conditions for the protection of public order in the operation of gambling and to ensure social compensation for the risks arising from the operation of and participation in gambling.

Sphere of authority of the organisation

In accordance with Act No. 30/2019 Coll. on gambling games and on the amendment to certain acts (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), the Gambling Regulatory Authority:

1. issues a general licence and decides on the granting and withdrawal of an individual licence in accordance with the Act; after the decision on the granting of an individual licence has become final, the Authority shall immediately send this decision to the municipality in the territory of which the operation of gambling games has been authorised by the decision,
2. decides on the issue of a mandate for expert assessment, indicating its scope,
3. exercises control pursuant to a special regulation over compliance with the Act and other related generally binding legal regulations by the authorised testing laboratories pursuant to Article 87(1) and (2) of the Act and by municipalities,
4. issues methodological guidelines in the field of gambling,
5. supervises compliance with the provisions of the Act, other related generally binding legal regulations, the conditions for the operation of gambling provided for in the Act and specified in the individual licence or general licence, and the obligations under the approved gaming plan, including the gambling rules, which apply to the supervised entities referred to in Article 80(a) to (c) of the Act or to their activities, in the form of on-site supervision, remote supervision and search activities,
6. supervises compliance with the provisions of the Act and other related generally binding legal regulations applicable to the supervised entities referred to in Article 80(d) to (j) of the Act or to their activities, in the form of on-site supervision, remote supervision and search activities,
7. supervises the provision of prohibited offers,
8. supervises compliance with the obligations pursuant to Article 85(8) of the Act and special regulations relating to the provision of prohibited offers and applicable to the supervised entities referred to in Article 80(k) of the Act, in the form of on-site and remote supervision,
9. administers the State budget levies,
10. cooperates with the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic in the field of gambling,
11. imposes sanctions pursuant to the Act,
12. performs the activities of an information system operator in the field of gambling operation,
13. keeps a central register of gambling operators and a central register of gambling houses,
14. administers the Register of Excluded Persons,
15. provides the Ministry of Finance with data from the information system in the field of gambling operation for the purpose laid down by a special regulation to the extent and in the manner specified in writing by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic,
16. issues mandates for the performance of supervision for the employees of the authorised testing laboratory, if the supervision includes technical inspection and assessment of technical equipment pursuant to Article 86(6) of the Act,
17. may, on the proposal of the national sports federation of the sport concerned and the national sports federation of the sports organisation concerned, restrict the acceptance of bets on a competition in the sport concerned which it deems inappropriate, without limiting the territory in which the competition takes place; it shall publish such information on its website,
18. publishes on its website information on the adoption, amendment or repeal of a generally binding order adopted by a municipality pursuant to Article 79(3), (4) and (6) of the Act; it publishes information on the adoption of a generally binding order pursuant to Article 79(7) of the Act by 10 November,
19. may contribute financially to the operation of a helpline of a specialised medical institution working in the field of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of substance and non-substance addictions,
20. decides on entry in the list of representations, deletion from the list of representations and records changes to the data entered in the list of representations.

The statutory body of the Gambling Regulatory Authority is the General Director, who is appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic. The appellate body of the Authority is the Board of the Authority, which has five members appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic.