Albania has finalised a framework to partially reopen its sports betting market, ending a blanket ban that has stood since 2019. The government confirmed in July that it had completed the rules governing a new online-only regime, under which up to 10 operators will be licensed to take wagers from customers across the Balkan nation. With unregulated online sports betting gross gaming revenue (GGR) estimated at $126 million in 2025, international operators are watching closely. What they cannot yet gauge is how much of that money will migrate into the legal channel.
What Albania’s Reopening Means for Operators
The shift matters because it converts a prohibited-but-flourishing black market into a controlled one, with defined entry barriers and a fixed number of seats at the table. Here is what stands out for anyone weighing a bid.
- Ten licences, maybe fewer: The legislation permits “up to” 10 online licensees, with the exact figure left to the Licensing Commission. A first round could admit only a handful, testing demand before the market is scaled.
- Retail betting stays banned. No betting shops, no slot halls. Casinos remain confined to five-star hotels.
- Revenue expectations: The government forecasts roughly ALL2bn (€20 million) in annual public revenue, with 15% of GGR ringfenced for a “special fund” covering culture, sport, technology and innovation.
- High barriers favour incumbents: Applicants must hold gambling experience across at least three EU or OECD markets and post €20 million in turnover, criteria that arguably shut out domestic firms entirely.
- The open question no framework can answer: whether more than half a decade of prohibition has quietly killed the appetite it was meant to curb.
Why the Ban Came in the First Place
In 2018, the year parliament voted for prohibition, Albanian betting generated an annual turnover of €700 million. The retail footprint was dense: 4,000 betting shops for a population then just over 2.8 million. That is roughly one shop for every 700 people.
“There were a lot of betting offices in Albania – everywhere, near schools and in local neighbourhoods,” says Hendri Hanaj, founder and partner at commercial law firm Hashtag Lawyers. “The government was forced to do something because it was getting out of control.” Small-scale wagering was near-universal, he adds – modest sums, but placed by almost everyone.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, himself a former basketball player, framed the ban as a moral campaign. He cited fears of addiction among low-income households and alleged links between some betting companies and organised crime. “We are waging a frontal war with the evil entrenched deeply in our society over the years,” he told parliament ahead of the October 2018 vote.
But the money did not vanish. It moved online. By Rama’s own 2022 admission, the betting economy was still “flourishing” despite the ban. “We are talking about taking this activity out of the black economy and bringing the profits into the light, because nobody can block it – not even China,” he said at the time.
Sizing the Underground Market
Estimates from Gambling Compliance International (GCI) put the scale of what prohibition failed to stop into sharper relief.
| Segment | Estimated unregulated GGR |
|---|---|
| Online sports betting (2024) | $117 million |
| Online sports betting (2025) | $126 million |
| Total online GGR including casino and poker (2024) | $229 million, a figure that dwarfs the sports vertical alone and hints at where future expansion pressure will come from |
The trajectory is upward. Prohibition, in practice, redirected demand rather than removing it.
How the New Framework Works
Traceability sits at the heart of the design. Players must register online using a national identity card, cash betting is prohibited, and payments must flow through Albanian banks, licensed electronic money institutions or authorised payment providers. Operators must monitor every transaction and retain player records for at least three years.
The self-exclusion regime goes further than most. Operators must enforce a national self-exclusion register held digitally, and according to media reports, wider family members will be able to request that a relative be barred – not just the player themselves. Operators must also warn players of gambling risks and point them toward support services. There is a gap here worth flagging: as BIRN has reported, Albania currently has no dedicated gambling counselling or rehabilitation centre for those warnings to point to.
Enforcement guidelines were finalised in June. Two licensing-rule violations within a three-year window can trigger a suspension of between 30 days and two years, during which the operator cannot accept bets. A third violation can cost the licence outright.
On tax, operators face the 15% GGR levy for the special fund, Albania’s standard 15% corporation tax, local taxes and a licence fee. That fee, set by competitive bid at a minimum of ALL400 million (€4 million), is payable in instalments across the 10-year licence term.
Who Gets In, and How Bids Are Scored
The eligibility bar is deliberately steep. Applicants must incorporate as an Albanian joint-stock company, demonstrate gambling experience across at least three EU or OECD markets, report turnover of at least ALL2 billion (€20 million) in the last financial year, and hold at least ALL40 million (€400,000) in share capital.
Licences are then awarded on a 100-point scale:
- Licence fee offer – 30 points: the highest bidder takes the full allocation.
- Gambling-sector experience – 30 points.
- Governance and organisation – 20 points.
- Technology and software, 15 points.
- Three-year business plan – 5 points.
Read together, the criteria point in one direction: large international groups. “There are a lot of conditions to get the licence and no Albanian company, at least, would be able to meet them,” Hanaj says. “It’s not that Albanian companies are not capable. I think the government is looking for companies that have been doing this for many years.”
A procedural clause reinforces the international framing. Once the Licensing Commission launches the competitive procedure, it must publish the call within seven days on its website, in Albania’s Public Notices Bulletin, and “in two international newspapers.” For operators already active across regulated European markets, the incremental cost of standing up an Albanian-facing product is low. Groups such as established multi-market betting operators of the kind Entain represents are exactly the profile the points system rewards.
The Timeline Nobody Will Confirm
Albania’s Gambling Supervision Authority said all eight implementing regulations were finalised, yet authorities have stayed quiet on when licensing actually begins. The Ministry of Finance did not respond to a request from iGB to clarify the timeline.
Hanaj expects awards within the coming year or two, tied loosely to Albania’s ambition of EU accession by around 2030. “But that’s just my opinion,” he adds. What also remains open is whether a legal market can sustain more than a few operators at all.
His scepticism is grounded. “There is an appetite for sports, but it has faded over time,” he says of the years since the ban. Albania’s population has slipped from 2.8 million in 2018 to 2.75 million, and incomes remain low. Then again, the country has a habit of defying its own arithmetic. “There are around 12 banks in Albania and I don’t think the market supports that,” Hanaj notes. “But they are still here and still working.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How many betting licences will Albania issue?
The legislation permits up to 10 online licences, but the final number rests with the Licensing Commission, which may admit fewer at first to test the market.
Can operators run physical betting shops in Albania?
No. The new regime is online-only. Retail betting shops and slot halls remain banned, and casinos are limited to a small number of five-star hotel premises.
What does it cost to hold a licence?
The licence fee is set by competitive bid at a minimum of ALL400 million (€4 million), paid in instalments over the 10-year term. On top of that come a 15% GGR tax, 15% corporation tax and local taxes.
Is the market realistically open to Albanian companies?
In practice, no. The experience and turnover thresholds – three EU or OECD markets and €20 million in annual turnover – are aimed squarely at large international operators.
When will licensing begin?
No official date has been released. Industry estimates suggest awards could come within the next one to two years, though authorities have not committed to a timeline.
