Three of the largest newspapers in Montenegro have issued a joint call for a revision of the recently-imposed restrictions on gambling advertising.

In a letter addressed to the State Parliament and Ministries of Finance, Culture and Media, news outlets Vijesti, Dan, and Pobjeda cite an “obvious discrimination” against local private media, raising concerns that the latest regulations threaten their revenue streams and existence. 

Montenegro’s government introduced a long-awaited list of gambling regulations aimed at protecting public health and lifting the country’s economy back which received its ascension as the new Gambling Law authorised by Finance Minister, Novica Vuković. 

This followed a set of advertising restrictions implemented in March that significantly limited gambling promotions seen across media outlets, allowing only for logos exclusively within sports sections. 

These restrictions have come under fire by the three newspapers, which point out that foreign media platforms have been kept out of the rulebook.

According to the letter’s authors, gambling advertisements amount for between 10% and 30% of their current income. With this revenue threatened by new laws, media are concerned that mass layoffs and a reduction in output quality could result.

“Any restrictions on commercial freedom of the media must meet strict conditions in terms of justification, restrictiveness and proportionality, i.e. they cannot be imposed to the detriment of the legitimate interests of all relevant economic entities,” the letter read.

The speed with which the regulations have been adopted was highlighted, as the trio of newspapers argued that unlike similar developments in Croatia and Serbia, no transition period was given to media outlets in Montenegro to adjust to the new landscape.

“We believe that it is necessary to find a balance between the public interest in combating addiction to games of chance and the public interest in the survival of the domestic media scene and the sustainability of the quality of public information.

“The ban on advertising games of chance in the manner envisaged by the new Montenegrin legislation is disproportionate to the goals pursued, because the same goals can be achieved with less restrictive measures or measures that target the essence of the problem.”

One of the proposed measures put forward by the three newspapers is the setting up of a temporary support fund for print media as a “minimal way to mitigate the consequences” until a long-term solution is found.

As a sidenote, a quick look at Pobjeda, one of the publications criticising the restrictions, showed that it was acquired by Greek businessman Petros Stathis and his company Media Nea in 2014.

According to investigative publication The Black Sea, Stathis has previously done business with Paul Phua – a controversial gambling figure from Malaysia with investment links to Montenegro.

In 2014, Phua was arrested by the FBI on alleged illegal sports betting charges, but the case against him was later dropped in 2015.