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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Democratic Party has reacted to the new gambling law, which according to the opposition is another corrupt and clientelistic government initiative.
The deputy of the Democratic Party, Oriola Pampuri, said in a statement that the law was rushed through the Assembly last week, bypassing any type of consultation with interest groups and citizens.
She also added that there are at least 5 problematic issues that this law will create and according to Pampuri, in an insidious way, for almost a year the government brought and withdrew this law several times, but without making any substantial reflection from the first draft.
Pampur's reaction:
The new law "On Games of Chance" is another corrupt and clientelistic initiative of this government.
In the span of 5 years, the government's approach to "sports betting" has undergone a radical change, from denigrating it as the greatest evil under the so-called "end of stupidity" in 2018, and while now, it brings it back but predicting media promotion and customer loyalty.
In an insidious way, for almost a year the government brought and withdrew it several times, but without making any substantial reflection from the first draft.
The law was rushed through Parliament last week, bypassing any type of consultation with interest groups and citizens.
It was also not possible to have any kind of discussion or parliamentary debate between the deputies, regardless of their political affiliation, to address the economic-social problems that this law creates.
In these conditions, the impossibility of a substantive debate on this already approved law with the arbitrariness of the cards, but above all with the non-fulfillment of the Speaker of the Assembly's obligation to create a suitable environment for debate as is the Parliament.
There are at least 5 problematic issues that this law will create:
First, this new law will not restrict the use of gambling by young people. Although it is foreseen that every individual user must be over 21 years old, in fact already with an infrastructure that until now has operated under illegal, abusive conditions, despite being online in almost every neighborhood of the cities of Albania, easily accessible for every age , again these points will continue to be visited by persons under 21.
The lack of provisions in the law to prevent this existing phenomenon, which will continue to foster informality and become a danger for children, can create a spiral of addiction with irreparable damage to society.
Thus, the law should provide for tracing the source of transaction revenue for every ticket played by online sports betting.
Second , the tax ceiling is inconsistent with most EU countries. We remind you that in Germany, depending on the states, a tax of 20 to 80% of income is applied, as well as an additional tax at the local level, up to 20%. While in the case of Albania, a tax of 15% of gross income will be applied for sports bets, removing the amount of 0.4% of turnover for the purposes and programs of the relevant Ministry of Sports.
Thirdly , as in any legislation of the EU countries, but not only, there is no provision for any kind of fund collected from a special tax on social responsibility. It must be understood that this type of "entertainment" activity, despite the fact that it can be regulated by law, can also provide substantial income to the state budget, it is still among the "legal" activities which creates more irreparable addictions in the most vulnerable age groups population and there is a degenerative trend of domestic violence or other socio-economic wounds of our society.
Fifth, media promotion, beyond market and enterprise freedoms, can have a negative and addictive impact on under-21s, who will be more predisposed to gamble, through the already established network of physical bookmakers operating illegally still today.
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