Key Points
- Albania’s Ministry of Finance confirmed all eight implementing regulations are finalised, but the licensing competition has not officially opened.
- Up to 10 online operators can apply under Decision No. 194, assessed on a 100-point system covering experience, technology, and financial bids.
- Albania has no dedicated gambling addiction treatment centre, and psychiatrists warn the country’s healthcare system is not ready for what follows.
A Seven-Year Ban That Could Not Stop the Betting
Sports betting was outlawed in Albania on 31 December 2018 through the enactment of Law No. 75/2018. Over 4,000 betting outlets were in operation throughout the country of a mere 2.8 million inhabitants. In his speech to the Albanian parliament in October 2018, Prime Minister Edi Rama said, “We are conducting a frontal war against the evil that has been deeply entrenched in our society for many years.” The legislation was voted into effect. The betting houses were shut down. The betting continued.
Albania’s unregulated online sports betting market generated GGR of $117 million in 2024, rising to $126 million in 2025, according to estimates from Gaming Compliance International. With casino and poker added to the mix, total revenue generated from unregulated online gaming stood at $229 million in 2025. The neighbourhood coffee houses made up for the shortfall caused by the closure of the stores, while the gangs took over where the government had failed.
By 2022, Rama acknowledged the situation publicly. “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. That admission set the direction for a two-year legislative project.
The Law Changed in 2024 – The Market Still Has Not Opened
Parliament approved Law No. 18/2024 on 15 February 2024, amending the Gambling Act to permit online sports betting once more. Retail betting shops and slot halls remain banned. Only licensed online platforms and apps run by approved companies will be permitted, with casinos staying limited to selected five-star hotels.
Passing the law was not the same as opening the market. Implementing regulations still needed to be written covering licensing, supervision, player protection, and enforcement. In July 2026, Albania’s Gambling Supervisory Authority confirmed all eight implementing regulations had been finalised. The Ministry of Finance followed with a written statement: “The system is legally ready, but the licensing process has not yet officially opened.” A finished legal framework and an active market are not the same thing.
How the Licensing Competition Will Work?
On March 26th, 2026, the Albanian Council of Ministers passed Decision No. 194, setting out the competitive procedure for issuing licences. It became effective on March 30th, 2026, following its publication in the Official Gazette. It will be supervised by the Licensing Commission and the Gambling Supervisory Authority (AMLF). A maximum of 10 licences will be available nationwide.
Applications are scored on a 100-point system. Previous gambling sector experience and the financial offer each carry 30 points; organisational capacity accounts for 20; software and technical standards are worth 15; and the business plan contributes five. Applicants get 45 calendar days from the competition notice to submit documentation, with a non-refundable application fee of ALL500,000, roughly €5,100.
The entry requirements are deliberately demanding. Operators must register as Albanian joint-stock companies, maintain capital of at least ALL40 million throughout the licence period, and prove gambling experience across a minimum of three EU or OECD countries. The minimum licence fee is ALL400 million (approximately €4 million), payable over a 10-year term, alongside Albania’s 15% corporation tax and a 15% GGR contribution to a state fund for culture, sport, technology, and innovation.
Hendri Hanaj, founder of commercial law firm Hashtag Lawyers in Albania, reads the requirements clearly. “There are a lot of conditions to get the licence and no Albanian company, at least, would be able to meet them,” he says. “I think the government is looking for companies that have been doing this for many years, which would be better for the market.”
Enforcement Rules Were Written Before a Single Licence Was Issued
The country of Albania had also established its enforcement system prior to the start of the competition. The VKM No. 488 which was approved on 26 June 2026 is the legislative instrument that establishes the process and timelines for the suspension or cancellation of the license for online sports betting operations. The suspension gives the operator an opportunity to fix the violation, while the cancellation means the total termination of the license. The occurrence of another violation of the same kind within three years leads to the suspension process, while the third one may result in the cancellation.
Nobody Knows When Licences Will Actually Be Issued
With the framework complete, the most pressing gap is a competition start date. The Ministry of Finance confirmed the decision to open the process belongs to the Licensing Commission; only once the Commission acts will AMLF publish the official notice. No timeline has been announced, and that silence is generating criticism.
Businessman Endri Meksi, who has followed Albania’s gambling sector for years, estimates the illegal market generates around €2.5 billion in annual turnover and is frustrated by the lack of communication. “The Minister of Finance is completely absent from this whole story; he does not comment on anything,” Meksi said. He also raised the concentration risk: the Commission can issue just one licence if it chooses, creating a monopoly, or a small handful, creating something close to an oligopoly. Hanaj, linking the timetable to Albania’s EU accession ambitions, estimates licences could be awarded within one to two years, though he is careful to note that this is his personal view, not an official position.
A Market Already Shaped by International Brands
When the competition opens, licensed operators will enter a market where consumer habits have already been formed. Data from Blask, an iGaming market intelligence platform tracking brand visibility and consumer interest, shows 58 brands already present in its Albania dataset. In the one-year view, Bet365 held 88.56% of Brands’ Accumulated Power, a metric combining visibility and competitive positioning. Stake stood at 5.95% and 1xBet at 2.26%. Incoming licensees will not be introducing Albanian bettors to online betting; they will be competing for users who already have preferred platforms.
The Support Infrastructure Nobody Has Built
Alongside the licensing debate, one issue has received far less attention: what happens when the market expands and gambling harm increases. Albania currently has no dedicated gambling counselling or rehabilitation centre. Psychiatrist Neli Demi described the situation in BIRN’s reporting: “We do not have specialised centres for gambling addiction, we do not have national rehabilitation programs, and most patients are treated within general mental health services or in private practice. This means that help exists, but it is fragmented and insufficient.”
The regulations do require operators to carry self-exclusion systems, enforce identity-card registration, ban cash payments, and direct players to support resources. Family members will be able to request that a relative be barred from gambling platforms. Whether those obligations will be sufficient, given seven years of unregulated activity at scale, is a question Albania has not answered publicly.
Expert Analysis
Albania’s approach has been more structured than its seven-year delay suggests. Writing enforcement rules before issuing any licence, capping the market at 10 operators, and requiring established international companies all point to a government that wants control alongside revenue. The exclusion of retail betting shows the lesson from 2018 has been absorbed.
The unresolved questions are equally real. No start date is confirmed. The number of licences in the first round is undecided. International brands have built strong consumer positions already. Mental health infrastructure has not kept pace with the regulatory work. The rules are written; the real test begins when the first licence is signed.
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