Albania Sets Path For 10 Licensed Sports Betting Operators
Albania has completed the legal framework needed to license up to 10 online sports betting operators, more than two years after the country voted to end a ban on the activity, according to analysis published by SBC News recently from 4H Agency's Stasya Yautodzyeva.
Online sports betting was re-legalised in Albania in February 2024, but a package of secondary legislation was still needed to set technical standards, licensing procedures, player identification and payment controls before any operator could apply.
That work reached its key milestone in March 2026, when Albania's Council of Ministers adopted Decision No. 194, setting the competitive licensing procedure, eligibility criteria and evaluation methodology for the first licensing round.
The Licensing Framework
The market will sit under a capped, high-entry-cost model. A maximum of 10 nationwide licences are available, each running for 10 years.
The licence fee will be set through the competitive tender itself but cannot fall below ALL 400 million, or roughly $5 million, for the full term.
Operators must also hold minimum share capital of ALL 40 million (about $500,000), show turnover of at least ALL 2 billion (about $25 million) in the previous year, and post a player-winning guarantee fund worth at least ALL 12 million (about $150,000) or 5% of the prior year's stakes, whichever is higher. A further AML guarantee fund of ALL 50 million (about $625,000) applies on top.
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Tax And Oversight
Tax sits at the centre of the new regime. Licensed operators will pay 15% of gross gaming revenue plus an annual regulator fee of 3%, subject to a minimum of ALL 1.5 million (about $18,700).
The industry will be supervised by Albania's Gambling Supervisory Authority, known as AMLF, working alongside a dedicated Licensing Commission. A final piece of the framework, covering the suspension and revocation of licences, was adopted in June 2026.
Land-based sports betting shops and standalone slot halls, both features of Albania's pre-ban market, will not return as licensing categories under the new rules, and online casinos has no active licensing framework of its own.
Advertising is confined to a narrow regulated framework, with restrictions covering minors, misleading claims and sports-related promotion.
What Happens Next
Prime Minister Edi Rama has acknowledged that seven years of prohibition on physical betting shops failed to eliminate demand, pushing activity offshore and underground instead of into a supervised market.
That is the gap the new licensing round is designed to close, with the government open about its aim of channelling tax revenue from an activity that continued regardless of the ban.
As of August 2026, the licensing competition itself has not yet opened. The next step falls to the Licensing Commission, which must formally launch the tender and invite applications before any operators can enter the regulated market.
With a population of around 2.4 million and licences capped at 10, Albania will not become a major European betting market, but the framework gives it a defined route from an unregulated grey market to a small number of licensed betting operators working under fixed tax and capital terms.
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