EC dismisses Croatia approval reports

The European Commission has rejected recent reports suggesting it had given Croatian authorities the green light to implement its planned regulatory framework, with an EC spokesperson telling eGaming Review it considers the bill to be in breach of European law.

Various media reports from last week said the EC had given Croatia’s Gaming, Prize Games and Entertainment Games Act the go-ahead after the country had submitted the bill to the EC for final consideration earlier this year.

However, speaking to eGR, a spokesperson for the EC dismissed the reports and said it was unaware as to where the stories may have originated from.

“The Commission did not give a green light to Croatia’s draft online gambling act,” the spokesperson said. “The Commission issued a detailed opinion, which means we have concerns about the compatibility of the draft with EU law,” the spokesperson added.

“Whilst the standstill period has expired, we have not received a new draft nor are we aware of adoption of the law, as notified, by Croatia,” the spokesperson said.

The EC refused to give any detail on why it rejected an Act that aims to liberalise the online market in Croatia and implement a new tiered tax system which would see operators withhold between 10%-30% of customer winnings.

The news comes after Poland submitted an updated version of its regulatory framework to the EC in a bid to make the market more attractive to foreign operators.

Current regulations require remote operators to establish a company within its borders – a restrictive measure which has so far limited the number of licence holders to just four.

However, this measure is set to be abolished with the EC due to review the updated bill by 6 February.