Best Online Casinos in Albania

Situated in the Balkan Peninsula in the south east of Europe Albania has it all when it comes to the eye-pleasing nature and the cultural diversity. So, what does it offer in respect to the gambling industry?

Best Albanian online casinos

Since finding an online casino approved by Albania is out of question the only way for Albanian players to enjoy the world of gambling and indulge into such games as Roulette, BlackJack, Poker, Baccarat and many more the wide gambling industry has to offer nowadays, is to find a fine online casino that accepts Albanian players. There are not a lot of them on the market at this moment, therefore Albanian players are limited in their choices. However, there are still some top online casinos with valid licences and a high level of credibility out there who are willing to accept players from Albania despite the current ban on online gambling. This is good news for players who understand all the repercussions as well as the fact that they cannot be prosecuted by law for playing in foreign online casinos.

Top 3 Casinos that accepts players from Albania

1.

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3.

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5.

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There is also another way for Albanian players to be able to choose from the best licensed casinos, that offer different bonuses, risk-free bets, visual and practical high-tech experiences which is accessing foreign websites using a VPN.

International gaming sites do not accept Albanian currency LEK by default, but there are still ways of depositing. There are options of currency conversions when adding funds to the account. This action is usually done automatically and there are usually credit card, debit card and e-wallet solutions in place.

So, all that said, Albanian players seeking gambling online should still be able to have a choice.

Online Gambling Laws and Regulations in Albania

Since the 1^st of January 2019 online casino gambling has become illegal in Albania.

Online casinos used to be regulated by the Law on Gambling No.155/2015 “On gambling in the Republic of Albania”, which came into force at the beginning of 2016. Despite the need for a better legal framework, the Law covered as little as the tax system by changing it from “fixed” to “per activity” and the war against offshore online gambling, which the Law enforced the Gambling Security Authority (GSA) to oversee.

At the present time Albania has no legislative acts that would regulate operations of online casinos.

As there are no legal Albania based online casinos, gambling loving risk takers would have to access overseas online casinos who accept players from Albania as there is no actual law, prohibiting Albanian players accessing foreign casino websites, although government is extensively blocking oversees gambling websites.

Despite all the aspects and specifics of gambling restrictions in Albania players from Albania are not prosecuted for playing online and there is still a legal minimum gambling age which is 18.

Does Albania issue gambling licenses?

Albania does not issue their own licenses. They also forbid any foreign online gambling services within the country.

However, the regulations, auditing, and overseeing of existing gambling facilities are handled by the Albanian Ministry of Finance and the Gambling Monitoring Unit depending on the gambling activity and facility.

Gambling history in Albania

Up until 1991 all types of gambling in Albania were strictly banned. It was a major relief for the gambling loving nation once Albania legalized all forms of casinos within its territory. However, after the inspections that were carried out in order to find out services without the proper license there were more than 2000 shady gaming activity service providers found. Despite all the existing gambling regulations after government’s decision to execute the nationwide action that was called “End of Insanity” (2013 to 2015) there were also around 1,150 gaming machines confiscated, 40 casino owners charged, and 6,500 gambling activities had to undergo a close and thorough inspection.

Based on the report of the authorized entity in 2017 it has become apparent that the state budget lost around 390 million euro of the income from gambling within the period from 2014 to 2016. However, in order to protect poor people, fight against organised crime and corruption with the strong support of his Socialist Party in 2018 the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama has introduced the law to ban gambling. More than 4000 casinos and betting shops were closed since then, some even forcibly. It was followed by the initiative to relocate all the gambling establishments outside the cities and residential areas to the downtown and tourist areas. Gambling providers within these restricted regions are now subjected to strict penalties, with the exception of the national lottery. This structure is under a concession paid by Novomatic that allows it to have the ownership of Lotaria Kombëtare operator up until 2022.

The Law No. 75/2018 is strictly enforced and is in effect since 2019.

Is gambling legal in Albania?

All forms of gambling are illegal in Albania with the exception of 5 star hotels, tourist areas, and casinos located outside of city limits. Nevertheless, these gambling establishments need a license and are also required to pay 15% extra tax on monthly income as well as licensing fee and a 3% tax on the annual income on top of the usual taxes.

Television bingo and the national lottery are still allowed to operate apart from bingo halls that are widely prohibited.

Albanian gambling services are regulated by the gambling authority that is the Gambling Monitoring Unit (AMLF). It regulates and controls land-based casino in Albania since 2015 and it also used to regulate online casinos. As well as overseeing all Albania’s gambling industry AMLF are also authorised to establish gambling tariffs for the businesses operating within the country.

At the time of their operation online casinos in Albania were formally subjected to mandatory licensing, but there wasn’t any specific procedure in terms of obtaining a permit for this kind of operations.