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The Finance Ministry confirmed that a letter was sent to mobile operators with a request to restrict access to certain betting sites.
In response to the Danas newspaper, the Ministry of Finance, under whose jurisdiction the Gaming Administration operates, confirmed that the letter from this state body was behind the decision of the mobile phone operator Vip to prevent its users from accessing certain websites.
Photo: Aleksandar RoknićInternet filtering, as this practice was called at the Share Foundation, was done to protect the fiscal interests of the Republic of Serbia.
“Acting in accordance with the Law, the Gaming Administration, in order to protect the fiscal interests of the Republic of Serbia, informed the operators of public communications networks and services that provide access to content on the Internet and provide access services to Internet and Internet services that is necessary to block the Internet. Addresses through which foreign legal entities organize games of chance on the territory of the Republic of Serbia through electronic means of communication for players from the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and that they do not have the approval of the Directorate of Turn Games in accordance with the Law, “the Ministry of Finance informed us. these foreign gambling organizers do not pay the prescribed public revenue, which represents the revenue from the budget of Serbia.
The legal basis for such a letter, the ministry points out, is the Gaming Law, which obliges the Gaming Administration to monitor the application of the law, grant and revoke authorizations for the organization of games, but also control the prevention of gambling. money laundering and terrorist financing.
They recalled that the same law prohibits enabling the organization and participation in games of chance through electronic means of communication without the permission of the administration.
As a result of the letter, the content of which is not yet available to the public, the mobile operator Vip has prevented its users from accessing certain Internet sites from abroad since October 15, which receive betting roles in Serbia.
As this company informed Danas, according to the official request of the Gaming Administration and under threat of liability for minor crimes, electronic communications operators as of October 15, 2020 should not allow the organization of games of chance through Internet to people who do not have the approval of the Administration, as or participation in them.
“Respecting the Law and the privacy of users, because the operator should not and cannot control whether the user only accesses the site or participates in the game, Vip Mobile fulfilled the request in the only possible way: it blocked access to the websites listed by the competent administration. This decision was also supported by the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RATEL), which confirmed that by complying with the requirements of the Gaming Administration of the Ministry of Finance, we are acting in accordance with the principles of internet neutrality “, they said in Vip.
However, the Share Foundation, a non-profit organization specializing in Internet freedom issues, notes that this interpretation of the law is too broad and sets a dangerous precedent.
According to Danilo Krivokapić, director of Share Foundation, no one disputes that the activities of foreign betting companies that do not have the permission of the Board of Directors are illegal.
“It is debatable, however, that the broad interpretation of the law was initiated by those who allow users to access these sites. Vendors of computers and telephones could be sanctioned with the same interpretation, since they also indisputably allow access to such sites, ”says Krivokapić.
It is even more dangerous, he adds, that the blocking of certain sites begins with a letter from a state body, which is a precedent with potentially serious consequences for Internet freedom.
“The Gaming Administration refers to the provisions of the law, but other state bodies could say the same tomorrow. For example, there is no doubt that security crimes are occasionally committed through social media. “What prevents other state bodies from requesting letters to restrict access to Twitter or Facebook, referring to the provisions of the Penal Code,” asks Krivokapić.
This argument also has a legal basis, specifically in article 50 of the Constitution, which establishes that there is no censorship in Serbia and that it is the competent court that can prevent the dissemination of information and ideas through the media. A similar provision is contained in the Public Information Law.
Fines of up to two million dinars
The Gaming Law, in addition to prohibiting the possibility of organizing and participating through electronic means of communication to a person who does not have the approval, also provides sanctions for non-compliance with these provisions. Therefore, a legal person who violates these provisions will be fined in the amount of 100,000 dinars to two million dinars. The same law states that 40 percent of the income from gambling is used to finance the Serbian Red Cross, organizations of people with disabilities and other associations whose aim is to improve the socio-economic and social position of people with disabilities and others. people with social needs. social protection, sports and youth, local self-government units and treatment of rare diseases.
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