Gambling in Croatia in 2023

Croatia — a popular destination among all European tourists — is not only known for its scenic beaches and resort cities, it’s also a regulated gambling market. Read on to find out how to launch an online casino or sportsbook in Croatia or move your land-based project online.

Croatia 

Located in the South of Europe along the sea, Croatia is known as a tourist destination — its appealing landscapes, vibrant cities, outstanding architecture, and delicious food attract visitors from all over the world.

Just like other countries in the Balkan region, Croatia gained its independence relatively recently, in 1991. And even though Croatian economy is largely dependent on tourism, it has a great reputation and shows a stable growth today — the country entered NATO and the EU, adopted the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, approved by the European Union Council in July 2021, and joined the euro area in 2023 (though the process of transition is expected to be completed by the end of 2023).

In short, Croatia has a strong, stable, and groing economy with an increasingly rosy future.

Croats

82% of over 4 million Croats use the internet, and 106.6 mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, the robust telecommunications infrastructure makes good soil for the development of the online gambling sector.

Croats, like their neighbors, are very into football, basketball, and tennis — not only participating in them, but betting on them as well. However, just like everywhere else, the Covid pandemic hit the sport betting sector hard.

Gambling regulation in Croatia 

Authorities in Croatia have regulated all forms of gambling, including casino games, sports betting (except for fantasy sports, which are not regulated), lottery, and slot machines, since 2014, when the law regulating both online and offline forms was introduced. The lottery is a monopoly and belongs to the state-owned Hrvatska Lutrija.

As usual, to conduct these activities, operators need to obtain a local license issued by the Ministry of Finance.

However, to run an online casino, operators have to have a land-based project. Another important thing to keep in mind is that to run an online casino in Croatia legally, operators must have their office registered and servers located in the country. Foreign platforms without a local license can’t accept players (and payments) from Croatia. 

Gambling licenses are valid for 15 years. To acquire an online casino or betting license operators have to pay an annual fee of HRK 3,000,000 (approx. $431,648) and have at least HRK 4,000,000 ($575,514) of share capital registered for the entire term.

The taxes are different for each vertical. Betting operators have to pay 5% from their turnover, casino operators 15% from their GGR, and 25% from GGR from slot machines. 

Players’ wins are also taxed depending on a sum: winnings up to HRK 10,000 ($1,439) are taxed with 10%, HRK 10,000 - 30,000 ($4,319) 15%, HRK 30,000 - HRK 500,00 25%, and above that — 30%.

Unlicensed gambling operators are prosecuted and can be fined from HRK 50,000 ($7,220) to HRK 500,000 ($72,207) or even imprisoned for up to eight years. Players can also be punished by law in the case of participating in foreign games of chance (and paying stakes in Croatia). The fines range from HRK 10,000 ($1,444) to HRK 50,000 ($7,220).

Where to start?

Developing an online casino requires thorough research and a business plan that would include understanding target players and game selection based on their preferences, payment methods, website design and a back-end system allowing management and reporting, as well as a marketing plan.

We recommend to check out regulations in different countries and consider localization to be able to offer players of every particular region what they need in their local language.

How can Slotegrator help?

Slotegrator offers a range of products and services for gambling operators, and we normally recommend starting with a free consultation where our sales managers evaluate the goals and resources of every particular project and suggest the best solution.

Operators that are already running an online casino platform will appreciate APIgrator — a game aggregation tool with over 15,000 titles from over 100 providers available via single integration session. Land-based operators planning to go online will find our advisory and licensing services useful. And operators who are still in the stage of planning their project can simplify this process by acquiring a turnkey online casino platform or Sportegrator — a comprehensive online sportsbook solution.