Gaming Market Insights Series #13: CROATIA — HOPES HELD HIGH FOR GAMBLING’S MAGIC ON THE ECONOMY
Located on the Mediterranean coast, Croatia has long been famous for spectacular scenery. Spanning over a thousand islands, Croatia also enjoys robust tourism as well as colorful gambling industry.
Prior to the 2008 global crisis, Croatia achieved significant achievements both on economic and social fronts. However prior to 2015 recovery, Croatia witnessed six years in a row in recession, with GDP declining on average by 13% . The economy has finally returned to positive growth of 2.1 percent in 2016. The economy is still relying heavily on tourism, coupled with stagnant growth stimulus from the government.
Gambling in Croatia
Gambling is fully legal in Croatia, though it is restricted by a number of different government regulations. Croatia was among the first Eastern Bloc nations to legalize and regulate gambling back in the 1960s, which explains its steady gambling growth especially in the area of “tourist gambling” and increasing construction of numerous casinos and modern hotels, especially in the coastal areas.
Online gambling in Croatia is governed by the Ordinance on Interactive Online Casino Gaming, effective since July 2010. However it was not until the first half of 2015 that online casino games officially went live following prior heavy advertising campaigns. The success of iCasino has helped increase online gambling share in total lottery revenue from 22% in 2014 to 47% in 2015.
Lottery in Croatia
Lottery or Games of chance in Republic of Croatia traced its roots back from the monopoly stage. Until 1973, Hrvatska Lutrija was the only legal lottery which was strictly regulated by Croatian gambling laws. The government explains the background of these stark laws as to keep the game and the National Lottery Association of Croatia fair.
The online sports betting market finally opened in Croatia in 2010. Online Lottery has also turned extremely popular following the launch of iCasino. With booming Internet sector and the state’s monopoly position in lottery business, Croatian state lottery company is forging its strategy by restructuring, closing down unprofitable land-based gaming venues and focusing on profit-making enterprises. The results so far seem to be quite favorable and on par with expectations.
Future outlook
Although Croatia was listed among 10 worst economies in the world by Bloomberg last year due to aging population and sluggish economic perspective, gambling and online lottery, however, are expected to unlock new economic potentials and revive the economic deadlock in the country and region.
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