The continent-wide, land-based gambling trade body highlighted Croatia’s failure to notify the European Union’s executive arm about amendments to its Gambling Act via the Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) procedure.

It follows the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) nixing Lithuania’s gambling inducement law earlier this month over the same issue.

EUROMAT president Jason Frost said: “If the Commission is serious about strengthening the Internal Market then it has to ensure that Member States respect the law.

“The Commission intervened in 2014 and as a result Croatia had to withdraw its gambling law which underlines how important the notification procedure is.

“The Commission needs to intervene again but this time to ensure that Croatia actually notifies. Companies need legal certainty to invest and operate in Europe and if the Commission allows Member States to disregard their responsibilities then it sets a very concerning precedent”.

The association argued several of Croatia’s proposed amendments to its gambling law qualify as technical regulations under Directive (EU) 2015/1535, which means it must formally notify the Commission.

If passed, the law would impose sweeping responsible gambling changes across the country, including via mandatory player registration for venue entry and the establishment of a national self-exclusion register.

Additionally, operators would be subject to new advertising restrictions, be limited in where gambling venues could be placed, as well as face increased licensing fees and taxation.

EUROMAT says TRIS failure breaches EU law

EUROMAT said failure to comply with the notification procedure constitutes a violation of EU law, which could possibly lead to the law’s suspension and the initiation of infringement proceedings.

It noted Croatia informed the Commission regarding a separate 2023 law which resulted in substantive impacts for the amusement sector.

Filip Jelavic, general sectary of the Croatian Gaming Association, said: “It is inconceivable that any European Member State could be allowed to introduce such far reaching and disruptive legal changes without following the correct procedure.

“We are calling on the Croatian Government to act responsibly in this case and follow the law”.

The challenge follows a separate Croatian lobbying group warning the law’s passage risks the closure of 70% of the country’s gaming venues, amid widespread concern about high rate of problem gambling.