The Big Debate on Gambling in Slovenia

Posted: January 15, 2010

Updated: October 4, 2017

Gambling facilities such as large brick-and-mortar casinos come with a plethora of benefits attached to them. Initial intentions are usually

Gambling facilities such as large brick-and-mortar casinos come with a plethora of benefits attached to them. Initial intentions are usually that they will create a flow of revenue to the area where they’re built. Local and National governments can then make big bucks by taxing them heavily.

Another factor that really great about land-based casinos is that they bring tons of jobs with them. This is especially important at times when jobs are scarce, unemployment rises, and the economies of the world are suffering.

Slovenian gambling law, is sympathetic to gambling and there are quite a few casinos located in the small country. Casinos near the Italian border even get plentiful action from Italians who cross the border on a daily basis to make bets. It is estimated that one quarter of the tourism in Slovenia is gambling tourism.

To further culminate the blossoming gambling industry in the country, the Slovenians decided to build a $1.5 billion super casino in Nova Gorica starting in 2005. Unfortunately, just a few years later the idea was scrapped due to different political agendas, ownership issues, tax structure, and religious opposition.

The mega-casino idea was tossed prior to the current economic crisis. If this were not the case, or if work on the project were to be resumed once again, maybe Slovenia wouldn’t be in such a tight place. The government has been regulated casinos since 1995 and could have probably raised millions more through this Hit/Harrah’s Entertainment project.

At this point, nationals can still enjoy the land-based and online casinos in Slovenia. Whereas the government had earlier forbidden gambling on some foreign sites, the trend never really caught on and people use them every day.

Online gambling in Slovenia, can only be done on sites based abroad as the government does not issue online gambling licenses to any company. Internet gambling falls in a gray zone of legality but being that Slovenia has no jurisdiction over sites based abroad, they are perfectly accessible. Should the government wish to continue the building of the mega-casino, the country would see a lot more jobs and money available for use by locals.

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