Best Online Casinos in Montenegro & Gambling Regulations
Literally translated to meaning Black Mountain, Montenegro is an often overlooked southeastern European country that sits along the Adriatic. The country was made independent in 2006 after the break up of Yugoslavia, eventually gaining the name of Montenegro a year later. While all forms of gambling were banned during the time of Yugoslavia, its disintegration was met with an almost immediate lift of the ban. It wasn’t long after this that the small unassuming country actually become one of the first in the world to offer online gambling licenses. While you won’t find many sites that still operate under a Montenegro gambling license, the concept was considered a pioneering move at the time.
Top Casinos Accepting Players In Montenegro
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Find the Best Montenegrin Casino Online
Montenegro has legislation in place to make a regulated market, however, it is not so clear cut as to simply go looking for the first Montenegrin licensed site. The country has been equipped to distribute gambling licenses since 2012, although the integrity of these licenses has since been disputed. It is therefore generally advised to stay away from sites that operate purely on the basis of having a Montenegrin license. It also means that it is technically illegal for establishments to offer their services to residents without holding a license. Nevertheless, online casinos that operate abroad are still very much accessible. So, while Montenegro is technically a regulated market, most players will probably be playing from sites that are locally unregulated. As such, it is important that you take into consideration the extra risks of being involved by playing at a site without having the protection of the law on your side.
- Is the casino fully licensed?
- What are the main policies of the casino’s licensing authority?
- Are your preferred payment methods supported?
- Does the site also offer sports betting?
- Will you be able to participate in any promotional campaigns?
Accessing a site that is not licensed to operate in your country can expose you to a lot of risks. Black-market operations are particularly attracted to restricted or unregulated markets and Montenegro sits in an unusual position of being regulated in theory, but in practice operates on a more unregulated basis. That’s why we recommend you keep it close here at GoodLuckMate, where we provide you with unbiased and concise information aimed at keeping you informed and enhancing your casino gaming experience.
Gambling Regulation – Games of Chance Administration
Gambling legislation in the region can be traced back to 1909, however, during the times of communist Yugoslavia, only the state-run lottery was permitted. After a long road to independence, the independent Montenegro we know today was officially recognized in 2007. This allowed the government to remove the blanket ban on gambling activities and eventually led them to set up online gambling legislation and licensing capabilities in 2012. This was one of the first of its kind and allowed operations to apply for a separate license to provide their games and services online with no restrictions for specific games or activities.
While this license saw good adoption rates in the early 2010s, the reputation of the license itself began to degrade over time. The license, therefore, fell out of favor and finding an online casino that still carries it is akin to finding a relic of a past time. It is also something best avoided, as the most trustworthy and legitimate sites have since moved on to more robust and well regarded licensing authorities. Residents in Montenegro are therefore left in this contradiction where locally licensed operations could be riskier to gamble with than overseas sites that operate in the country illegitimately but with more trustworthy licenses.
Localized Online Casinos
Online casinos that operate from abroad are often called overseas operations, however, most of them are in fact based in Europe. This means that Montenegrin can enjoy some limited localization options simply by virtue of its proximity to the casino’s main markets. This means that a lot of languages, payment and currency options are offered that attempt to reach the biggest audience of European customers as possible. The main disadvantage that Montenegro has is its small population. With just over 600,000 residents, the size of the market is simply not big enough to offer up Montenegrin language settings and other country-specific localization options. A part of this lack of representation comes from the unusual licensing situation that the country has found itself in.
Gambling with Euros
The fact that Montenegro shifted over to euros was a great decision for the online casino fans in the country. Keeping a local currency would have most likely meant low adoption rates with several industries, simply due to the small population of the country. Adopting the euro meant that this was never an issue, as the currency is commonly found across the internet. The vast majority of online casinos allow players to use euros to the extent where it becomes difficult to find a site that doesn’t. Various payment options built around making euro transactions online are therefore also widely available in a variety of shapes and sizes. E-wallets, for example, have been incredibly popular with players, as they offer a quick and easy way to make and receive payments across the web.
Casinos in Montenegro
Montenegro’s capital city of Podgorica covers around 10% of the country’s landmass. The city and the stunning Adriatic coastline play host to six land-based casinos. There are also numerous slot halls and sports betting shops dotted around the country, as sports like football are incredibly popular with the locals. The lottery is also available, but an independent operation called Lutrija Crne Gore was granted a monopoly on the activity by the government, meaning that no other operations are legally allowed to set up any separate lottery programs. As for internet-based gambling, we believe that Montenegrins would greatly benefit from some reforms to the current legislation. As the online license issued by the country has had its reputation damaged beyond repair, a new solution must be reached for residents to enjoy the full benefits of living in a regulated market.
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
