Can foreign operators get an online gambling licence in Slovakia?

Yes. Since 1 March 2019 both domestic and EU operators have been able to apply to the Gambling Regulatory Authority for online gaming and betting licences, and there is no cap on the number granted.

What is a state monopoly in Slovakia?

The national lottery. TIPOS, the state operator, retains the monopoly on lotteries.

How long does a Slovak gambling licence last?

Individual licences run for two, five or ten years depending on the game type and are renewable. General licences, which cover raffles and similar activity by notification, are indefinite.

Sovereign state

Europe

ISO SK

Review due

Slovakia: gambling regulation and licensing

Slovak Republic

Online casinoRegulated
Online sports bettingRegulated
Online pokerRegulated
iLotteryMonopoly

Regulator: Gambling Regulatory Authority
Headline tax: Not yet verified
Licence required: Yes
Last verified: 30 Aug 2026

Summary

Slovakia opened its online market in 2019 and has kept it open. Act No. 30/2019 Coll. on gambling games established the Gambling Regulatory Authority (Urad pre regulaciu hazardnych hier) on 1 March 2019 and, from the same date, allowed domestic and EU operators to apply for online gaming and betting licences. Online casino, betting and card games are all licensable through individual licences running two, five or ten years depending on the game type, with no cap on the number issued, alongside general licences that cover raffles and similar activity by notification. The national lottery stays with the state operator TIPOS. Entry costs are meaningful rather than prohibitive: minimum registered capital between EUR 70,000 and EUR 1,700,000 and financial guarantees between EUR 1,500 and EUR 1,500,000. Enforcement runs through Authority-ordered website blocking and payment blocking, plus a statutory register of persons excluded from gambling.

Key facts

Regulator: Gambling Regulatory Authority (URHH)
Regulator type: Dedicated regulator
Headline tax: Not yet verified
Licence required: Yes
Minimum age: 18+
Tax base: Slovakia charges gambling levies rather than a single headline gross gaming revenue tax, and the sources consulted do not agree on the current rate for internet games, so no headline rate is recorded. CMS reports a monthly contribution of 0.7 per cent of the proceeds, fee and commission for online casinos, and wagering contributions ranging from 1 per cent of total bets on horse racing up to 30 per cent depending on the game. ICLG reports totalisator betting at 6 per cent of the gaming principal, gambling machines at EUR 4,000 per machine per year to the state budget plus EUR 4.11 per day to the municipality subject to a EUR 1,500 annual minimum, and a special contribution for lotteries of 0.7 per cent of the game principal. The October 2025 amendment repealed the government regulation that set levy rates and was explicitly intended to raise them, so any figure predating 27 October 2025 should be treated as superseded.
Capital: Bratislava
Currency: EUR
Official languages: Slovak

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Act No. 30/2019 Coll. on gambling games and on amendments to certain acts
Zakon c. 30/2019 Z. z. o hazardnych hrach a o zmene a doplneni niektorych zakonov
Year
2019
In force
Yes
Summary
Act No. 30/2019 Coll. is the framework gambling statute. It established the Gambling Regulatory Authority on 1 March 2019 and, from the same date, opened online gaming and betting licences to domestic and EU operators. Licences are split into general licences, which cover activities such as draw in-kind lotteries, raffles and off-casino card games and require notification rather than application, and individual licences, which are granted on application for defined terms. The national lottery remains reserved to the state operator TIPOS.

Key amendments

27 Oct 2025An amendment to Act No. 30/2019 Coll. and to the Act on administrative fees was approved by parliament on 23 October 2025 and took effect on 27 October 2025, with selected provisions from 1 January 2026. Its stated purpose is to increase state budget revenue by regulating the level of gambling levies. It also introduces a EUR 150,000 administrative fee for casino licence transfers, sets a minimum contribution by the national lottery operator to addiction prevention from 1 January 2026, repeals the previous government regulation on gambling levy rates, and allows the national lottery operator to conduct activities outside Slovakia.

Pending legislation

Proposal to raise the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21
Stage
Reported by ICLG as under discussion
What it changes
Would raise the minimum age for participation in gambling from 18 to 21 and exclude motels, lodging houses and buildings for culture and public entertainment from the places where a casino or gambling house may be operated.

Licensing

Licence required: Yes
Application window: Rolling
Local establishment required: Not yet verified
Local server required: Not yet verified
Typical time to licence: CMS reports approximately one to two months from the point at which all required documentation has been obtained.
Bank guarantee or bond: ICLG reports financial guarantees ranging from EUR 1,500 to EUR 1,500,000 depending on the game type.
Barriers to entry: Minimum registered capital runs from EUR 70,000 to EUR 1,700,000 depending on the licence type, with financial guarantees of EUR 1,500 to EUR 1,500,000 on top. Trade reporting also describes a substantial application fee for internet casino licences and a requirement to run on a .sk domain with the gaming server located in Slovakia, but neither could be traced to a source we fetched, so neither is recorded as an assertion here.

Licence types

Individual licence
Scope
Granted on application to a specific legal entity. ICLG reports sixteen types, covering lottery games, betting, casino operations, online casinos and terminal-based gaming.
Term
Two, five or ten years depending on the game type, renewable
General licence
Scope
Covers draw in-kind lotteries, raffles and off-casino card games. Requires notification to the Authority rather than an application.
Term
Indefinite

Taxation

Headline GGR tax: Not yet verified
Effective date: Not yet verified
Tax base: Slovakia charges gambling levies rather than a single headline gross gaming revenue tax, and the sources consulted do not agree on the current rate for internet games, so no headline rate is recorded. CMS reports a monthly contribution of 0.7 per cent of the proceeds, fee and commission for online casinos, and wagering contributions ranging from 1 per cent of total bets on horse racing up to 30 per cent depending on the game. ICLG reports totalisator betting at 6 per cent of the gaming principal, gambling machines at EUR 4,000 per machine per year to the state budget plus EUR 4.11 per day to the municipality subject to a EUR 1,500 annual minimum, and a special contribution for lotteries of 0.7 per cent of the game principal. The October 2025 amendment repealed the government regulation that set levy rates and was explicitly intended to raise them, so any figure predating 27 October 2025 should be treated as superseded.

Compliance

Minimum age: 18+
National self-exclusion: Register of natural persons excluded from gambling (mandatory)
KYC requirements: Not yet verified
Stake limits: Not yet verified

Advertising

Advertising permitted: Not yet verified
Affiliate rules: Affiliates are not separately licensed. Only operators holding a licence from the national regulator may lawfully be promoted.
Penalties for breach: The Gambling Regulatory Authority supervises licensees, acts against unlicensed supply and can act against the licence.

Restrictions

Gambling is licensed and supervised by the Gambling Regulatory Authority under the Slovak Gambling Act.
Only licensed operators may lawfully be promoted, and promotion of unlicensed operators is prohibited.
Advertising is supervised as part of the licensing framework rather than under a separate advertising statute.

Enforcement

ISP blocking: Yes
DNS blocking: Not yet verified
Payment blocking: Yes
App store takedowns: Not yet verified
Administrative penalties: ICLG reports monetary fines, licence revocation, suspension of equipment and deduction of yield to the state budget.
Operator liability: The Gambling Regulatory Authority may impose a measure to prevent access to a website through which a prohibited gambling offer is provided, and a measure to prevent the execution of a payment transaction connected to a prohibited offer. CMS states that websites of gambling operators without a Slovak licence are blocked by the Slovak authorities. The Authority also maintains the register of natural persons excluded from gambling.

Outlook

The live issue is tax. An amendment approved on 23 October 2025 took effect on 27 October 2025, with parts from 1 January 2026, expressly to raise state revenue by regulating gambling levies, and it repealed the government regulation that previously set the levy rates. Trade reporting quotes several different figures for the resulting internet games levy, which is why no rate is recorded here. Getting a confirmed post-amendment rate from the Authority or the Ministry of Finance is the first job at the next review. Beyond that, a proposal to raise the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21 remains under discussion.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreign operators get an online gambling licence in Slovakia?: Yes. Since 1 March 2019 both domestic and EU operators have been able to apply to the Gambling Regulatory Authority for online gaming and betting licences, and there is no cap on the number granted.
What is a state monopoly in Slovakia?: The national lottery. TIPOS, the state operator, retains the monopoly on lotteries.
How long does a Slovak gambling licence last?: Individual licences run for two, five or ten years depending on the game type and are renewable. General licences, which cover raffles and similar activity by notification, are indefinite.

iGT coverage of Slovakia

Slovakia Launches Major Youth Protection Drive Against Unlicensed Online Gambling

Regulatory

25 May 2026

Slovakia Launches Major Youth Protection Drive Against Unlicensed Online Gambling

As its licensed gambling market reaches €1.55 billion, Slovakia's regulator has signed two May 2026 memoranda, building a multi-source database with Digitálna koalícia and embedding gambling-harm training at a Nitra university to shield minors from unlicensed offshore operators.

Sources

Zakon c. 30/2019 Z. z. o hazardnych hrach a o zmene a doplneni niektorych zakonov
Slov-Lex (Slovak official legal information system, Ministry of Justice)
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
Gambling Regulatory Authority
Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
Gambling
Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
CMS Expert Guide to gambling laws in CEE - Slovakia
CMS Legal
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026
CMS Expert Guide to online gambling regulation in Europe - Slovakia
CMS Legal
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026Published 27 Apr 2023
Gambling Laws and Regulations - Slovakia
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)
This is an archived edition dated to November 2023 and is the most recent Slovakia chapter available. Secondary reporting quotes several incompatible headline levy rates for internet games (22 per cent, 27 per cent and 30 per cent from 1 December 2025), and the October 2025 amendment repealed the government regulation that set the rates. No headline rate is recorded in taxation until it can be confirmed against the Authority or the Ministry of Finance.
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026
Novela zakona o hazardnych hrach a zakona o spravnych poplatkoch
Slovenska komora danovych poradcov (Slovak Chamber of Tax Advisers)
Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026