Illegal Online Bookmakers in Croatia: How Kids Easily Become Victims and Where Two Billion Kuna Disappear
Welcome to the world of illegal online bookmakers in Croatia – where children and minors can easily place bets, and the state loses billions! Yes, you read that right. According to research by the Faculty of Economics, as much as two billion kuna annually flows to foreign illegal bookmakers who pay no taxes, are not controlled, and literally dominate the market.
A Law That Doesn’t Help? In April last year, the Croatian Parliament unanimously passed stricter rules for games of chance. Advertising bans from 6 AM to 11 PM, higher taxes, and tougher controls – sounds like a good start, right? But paradoxically, illegal bookmakers continue to operate at full speed, bypassing blocks via VPNs, DNS changes, and constantly opening new “mirror” domains.
Kids Are the Target! The worst part is that illegal bookmakers’ ads are targeted directly at younger audiences, including minors! Messages about quick cash and easy earnings lure naive kids into the trap. Most of these sites do not verify player identities or have mechanisms to detect pathological gambling.
Legal Operators in Trouble While legal operators must strictly follow rules and pay taxes, illegal ones freely advertise through Google ads and Telegram groups. The Croatian Association of Game Organizers (HUPIS) warns that this makes it harder for legal operators to work, while illegal ones get more room to operate.
How to Bet on Illegal Sites? HUPIS research showed that registration on illegal sites is as easy as pie – they only ask for basic info and an email, and bank transfers are immediately visible in the account. Withdrawals are more complicated, but that doesn’t stop players from risking.
What Is the State Doing? The Tax Administration has a list of banned sites, but blocks are easily circumvented. Complaints against illegal promoters exist, but none have resulted in concrete measures so far. Institutional insensitivity is obvious, and the question is whether there is any real will to fight this problem.
What Next? Experts suggest introducing an automated system for detecting and blocking illegal sites in cooperation with internet providers, as done in Italy, Denmark, and France. Without this, the illegal market will continue to grow, and kids will remain easy targets.
Conclusion Two billion kuna annually go into illegal hands, kids gamble without control, and the state keeps losing the battle. Is this just inefficiency or something much worse? If you have your own opinion or have encountered such sites, drop a comment – let’s break this ruleless game together!
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