European Council offers support to Albania’s gambling ban

Officials of the European Council have extended support to the decision of the Albanian government to shut down betting shops and casinos and ban sports betting in the country. It was last week that the Albanian parliament passed the law to this effect.

The ban will come into force in 2019. The new law will make all slot machine parlours, betting shops and other forms of sports betting including online sites close before the start of 2019.

Christos Giakoumopoulos, General Director for Human Rights and Rule of Law, said that the decision from the parliament also helps the prevention of money laundering. “The extreme measures that were taken this year are welcome,” Giakoumopoulos said.

The EC official also added that the European Council mechanism Moneyval is currently monitoring the performance of local institutions for money laundering and that a report will be published soon.