Online gambling in Albania: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Albania?

Law 155/2015 on gambling, as amended by Law 75/2018, closed Albania's roughly 4,000 betting shops and every remote gambling product from 2019, leaving only casinos in five-star hotels and tourist areas, the national lottery and televised bingo. Law 18/2024, in force since 27 March 2024, allows online sports betting again under a maximum of ten ten-year licences awarded by competition, with a minimum licence fee of ALL 400 million, a 15% GGR tax and payments only through Albanian banks and licensed payment institutions. Council of Ministers Decision 194 of 26 March 2026 fixed the procedure and scoring, and the Gambling Supervisory Authority (AMLF) finished the implementing regulations in mid-2026, but no competition notice had been published and no operator was licensed at the review date. Online casino and poker remain prohibited.

Restricted: Online gambling is prohibited for operators or licensing is closed; enforcement varies.

Who regulates gambling in Albania?

• Autoriteti i Mbikëqyrjes së Lojërave të Fatit (Gambling Supervisory Authority), Ministry of Finance (AMLF) — Supervises licensed gambling, runs the competitive procedure for online sports betting licences together with the Licensing Commission, monitors operators in real time and collects the annual supervisory fee
• Autoriteti i Komunikimeve Elektronike dhe Postare (Electronic and Postal Communications Authority) (AKEP) — Orders internet service providers to block unlicensed gambling domains on the authorities' blacklist

Albania gambling licence: how it works

Law 18/2024 amended Law 155/2015 to create a single online category, sports betting via the internet, capped at ten licences nationwide and awarded through a single-stage competitive procedure run by the AMLF and the Licensing Commission. Decision 194 of the Council of Ministers, in force from 30 March 2026, sets the scoring: 30 points for the economic offer above the minimum fee, 30 for gambling experience, 20 for organizational and administrative capacity, 15 for software, security and international certification, and 5 for the business plan, with ties settled by lot. The Commission decides when to open a round and how many licences to award; the notice is published on the AMLF site, in two international newspapers and in the Public Notices Bulletin, and applicants have 45 days to file. Licences run for ten years, and the fee bid is paid in equal annual instalments. As of August 2026 no round had been opened.

What an applicant needs

• Joint-stock company registered in Albania with share capital of at least ALL 40 million
• Gambling turnover of at least ALL 2 billion in the previous year and betting activity in at least three EU or OECD markets
• Non-refundable application fee of ALL 500,000 payable to the AMLF
• Guarantee funds for player winnings and for periodic obligations to the authorities, as set in Article 22 of Law 155/2015
• Platform integrated with the AMLF real-time monitoring system, with player registration against the national identity card and record retention of at least three years
• Payments only through banks, licensed electronic-money institutions and payment institutions in Albania; no cash
• Clean-record and tax certificates for shareholders and managers

Gambling taxes in Albania

• Operators: 15% of GGR from online sports betting, paid into a special fund for culture, sport, technology and innovation, plus corporate income tax at the standard 15% and the 3% annual AMLF fee (Law 18/2024).
• Players: Industry sources report a 15% withholding tax on player winnings under Albania's income tax law; confirm the current treatment with local counsel before launch.
• Also: The Government has estimated that the regulated online betting regime would raise about EUR 20 million a year once licences are awarded.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Advertising of gambling is tightly controlled under Law 155/2015 and only licensed operators may advertise; because no online betting licence has been issued, no lawful online betting advertising exists in Albania as of 2026. Detailed advertising rules for licensees are set in the AMLF's 2026 implementing regulations.

Responsible gaming

Players must be 18 or older and register with their national identity card. Law 18/2024 and its bylaws require player identification, deposit controls and responsible-gaming information, and the AMLF may suspend or revoke a licence under procedures adopted in June 2026.

Identity and age verification

Registration only with personal data verified against the Albanian identity card; operators keep player records for at least three years and are obliged entities under the AML law, with a dedicated AML guarantee fund.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals may move only through Albanian banks, licensed electronic-money institutions and payment institutions; cash wagering is prohibited. Crypto is not a permitted payment method for licensed betting.

Notable restrictions

• Betting shops, slot halls and all remote casino, poker and slot products have been prohibited since 1 January 2019
• Online sports betting is the only online product that may be licensed, with a cap of ten licences
• Land-based casinos are allowed only in five-star hotels and designated tourist areas
• Unlicensed gambling domains are blocked by AKEP on the authorities' order
• Applicants must be Albanian joint-stock companies with proven experience in three EU or OECD markets

Albania iGaming market: size, players and payments

No regulated online market exists yet. Before the ban, Albanian gambling turned over about EUR 700 million in 2018 across roughly 4,000 betting shops; industry estimates cited by The iGaming put unregulated online sports betting GGR at about USD 126 million in 2025 and total unregulated online GGR at about USD 229 million.

No licensed online operators as of September 2026. The entry conditions, a minimum EUR 4 million licence fee, ALL 2 billion turnover and activity in three EU or OECD markets, point to established international betting groups as the likely bidders.

Timeline: how Albania got here

1. 2015-12Law 155/2015 on gambling consolidates the licensing regime under the AMLF
2. 2018-10Parliament adopts Law 75/2018 closing betting shops, slot halls and remote gambling from 1 January 2019
3. 2019-01Ban takes effect; AKEP orders ISPs to block 343 gambling domains
4. 2024-02Law 18/2024 re-legalizes online sports betting with up to ten licences; in force 27 March 2024
5. 2026-03Council of Ministers Decision 194 sets the competitive procedure, scoring and ALL 500,000 application fee; in force 30 March
6. 2026-06Government approves the last two bylaws on licence suspension and revocation; AMLF completes eight implementing acts by July
7. 2026-08Licensing competition still not opened; no online betting operator licensed

Outlook

The next step is a Licensing Commission decision to open the first competition and announce how many of the ten licences it will award. Fee bids are expected to land above the ALL 400 million floor because the economic offer carries 30 of 100 points. Until then, the 2019 prohibition remains the operative rule for every online product, and online casino and poker have no licensing path at all.

Launching in Albania with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. Albania has no licensed online operator yet and prohibits online casino, so GameBridge brands geo-block Albania by default; once the AMLF awards online sports betting licences, a licensee could run its sportsbook on GameBridge under a turnkey arrangement.

GameBridge excludes Albanian residents through geo-controls by default, and this page exists so compliance teams can verify the status quickly. For a group preparing a bid, GameBridge can scope a sportsbook-led platform that meets Law 18/2024: registration against the Albanian identity card, integration with the AMLF real-time monitoring feed, payment rails limited to Albanian banks and licensed payment institutions with no cash, three-year record retention and the responsible-gaming controls in the bylaws. Casino content stays switched off for Albania, and the platform documentation supports the software, security and certification criteria worth 15 points in the scoring. No licence outcome is promised.

• Country geo-block applied by default for Albania
• Sportsbook-only configuration with casino content disabled
• Registration against the national identity card with three-year record retention
• Regulator monitoring feed integration on request
• Payment rails limited to Albanian banks and licensed payment institutions
• Documentation package for the software and security scoring criteria

Football and live betting are the only products a future Albanian licensee may offer online; GameBridge's sportsbook covers the leagues Albanian players follow, and casino content, including GameBridge Studios titles, remains excluded for Albania.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Albania Establishes Competitive Licensing Framework for Online Sports Betting — Karanovic & Partners, accessed 2026-09-11
• Përcaktohen kriteret dhe procedurat për dhënien e licensave për bastet sportive online — ATSH (Albanian Telegraphic Agency), accessed 2026-09-11
• Albania marks tax as end game of betting re-regulation — SBC News, accessed 2026-09-11
• Albania Reopens Online Betting With 10-Licence Cap — The iGaming, accessed 2026-09-11
• Online sports betting returns, government completes legal framework after 2 years of delay — Vox News Albania, accessed 2026-09-11
• Albania Changes Law On Gambling (2018) — Mondaq, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.