The Ministry of Finance of Montenegro faces backlash over its revision and botched application of how gambling winnings are taxed.

On 31 December, Montenegrin gambling licences were notified that they had 24-hours to update software and systems to add new tax calculations on customer winnings to be applied as 1 January 2026.

The alert followed a series of amendments made by the Ministry of Finance to the Law on Personal Income Tax.  Fiscal changes were summoned separately to the Budget 2026, as Montenegro deems gambling winnings as personal income.

Changes saw the Ministry ditch Montenegro’s all-embracing 15% tax on winnings above €300, branded as an ineffective tax measure.

Without consultation, the Ministry applied a new framework in which customer winnings up to €50 will be tax-free. Winnings between €50.01 and €1,500 will be taxed at 10%, and winnings above €1,500 at 15%.

The tax will apply only to betting, lottery games and global jackpots, while casino and slot machine winnings have been exempted.

The Ministry stated that it could apply new thresholds, as its tax calculations were submitted by MP Armen Šehović (PES) as modifications and not a stand-alone government bill.

Industry backlash was instant as the Ministry has no fiscal analysis to explain how the new structure will work, how it will be enforced, or how much revenue it is expected to raise. In previous deliberations Montenegrin licences had urged for a higher tax-free threshold (€300 instead of €50), a plea rejected by the Ministry.

MontenegroBet demands answers

In a formal letter, online gambling association MontenegroBet accused the Ministry of once again exposing irregularities in the governance of gambling licences, despite assurances that laws would apply uniformly.

“The Ministry of Finance keeps saying in public appearances that the law will be applied equally, without exception, when the reality is completely different,” the association said.

MontenegroBet argued that the tax amendments were introduced without fiscal rationale, noting that no public analysis had been published explaining how the tax would be calculated, enforced or what level of revenue it was expected to generate – 

“Where legal fixes are constructed by commands and demands from the ‘consultants’ of favoured operators, the illegal market is growing to a scale unimaginable just a few years ago,” the letter stated.

Complaints underscored an “impossible  timeframe” on licences, claiming operators were given less than 24 hours to comply, without technical instructions or secondary legislation. 

“All operators calculate the tax on winnings, but due to the extraordinarily short implementation deadline, they are unable to display it on betting slips,” MontenegroBet said.

More controversially, the trade body questioned how some licence holders appeared technically ready to apply the tax immediately, despite the absence of rulebooks or advance notice.

“The question is how privileged operators obtained information that others did not,” it said, also pointing to the continued failure of certain operators to connect to the state’s central monitoring system despite long-standing legal obligations.

MontenegroBet reserved criticism for the exemption of casino, roulette and slot-machine winnings from taxation, arguing that “different tax treatment within the same industry violates equality and legal certainty.”

“Through these unconstitutional and unlawful amendments, the core business activity of privileged operators has been exempted from taxation,” the letter stated.

The trade body concluded that the gambling tax on winnings represents another botched reform, drawing parallels to  2024, when the Ministry imposed a sudden blackout on digital wallets for iGaming transactions before later reversing course. 

MontenegroBet confirmed it is preparing legal action, including a constitutional challenge, warning that further governance failures risk undermining trust in Montenegro’s gambling system.

No grey in 2026

As of August 2025, Montenegro has begun the phased rollout of reforms under its new Law on Games of Chance, a framework designed to modernise the gambling sector and align it with EU standards and compliance disciplines.

At the start of the new year, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić issued a statement to Montenegrin businesses warning that the government would no longer tolerate “grey areas” in gambling regulation. 

Operators were told to fully align with new requirements covering licensing, banking transactions, customer verification and advertising – as the government will now undertake an era of stricter enforcement on gambling law and order.