February 9 (SeeNews) - The Albanian parliament said it has approved regulatory changes to lift the ban on online sports betting, which was implemented five years ago along with a complete prohibition on gambling.
The changes were endorsed by all 75 parliament members present, the parliament said in a press notice on Thursday.
The government decided to lift the ban on online sports betting in an attempt to halt its spread in the illicit market, the economy ministry has said in documents.
Only 10 companies with previous experience in the betting industry will be licensed.
In 2018, Albania's parliament voted to remove gambling from residential areas to limit its spread. However, many of the shops have continued to operate in secret.
Prior to the ban, sports betting was mainly carried out in café chains owned by three licensed companies. It was a very popular leisure activity in the country, with a total of 4,214 sports bets cafes in the Albanian territory in 2018.
Before the ban, official figures show that Albanians used to spend up to 150 million euro ($161 million) annually on sports betting. However, including illegal bets, this number rises to 700 million euro.
(1 euro = $1.08)