Is online gambling legal in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Three sites run by Federation betting licence holders, sportplus.ba, bet-live.ba and premier-kladionica.com, offered casino, live casino and slot games on 27 October 2026, and no regulator or court has said anything about this. You must be 18. In the Federation, 10% is withheld on each winning over 100 BAM; in Republika Srpska the rate rises in stages from 10% on winnings over 1,000 BAM to 30% on winnings over 100,000 BAM. There is no national self-exclusion register: sites licensed in Republika Srpska or Brčko District must let you exclude yourself for a period you choose, but only from that site, and the Federation's law sets no such duty.

1. 1FBiH: Zakon o igrama na sreću, SN FBiH 48/15 and correction 60/15 (FMF PDF)
2. 2FBiH: Pravilnik o tehničkim uslovima, sadržaju pravila i procedura i načinu priređivanja internet igara na sreću, SN FBiH 59/16, supplemented 23/24
3. 3RS: Pravilnik o priređivanju internet igara na sreću, SG RS 45/19

Using a VPN to reach gambling sites from Bosnia and Herzegovina: Legal.

Gambling with crypto: Restricted.

You must be 18 to gamble online in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for online casino, sports betting and lottery alike.

In FBiH, 10% is withheld on each winning over 100 BAM. In Republika Srpska, a tiered withholding tax applies to each winning: 10% above 1,000 BAM up to 10,000 BAM, 15% up to 50,000 BAM, 20% up to 100,000 BAM and 30% above 100,000 BAM; winnings of 1,000 BAM or less are not taxed. In Brčko District, the operator withholds 10% on lottery winnings and 25% on casino winnings.

23 licences: 7 FBiH internet approvals and 16 RS internet licences in validity (some groups hold both) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as of 27 Oct 2026.

Always verify a casino holds a valid FBiH: Federal Ministry of Finance (Federalno ministarstvo finansija) grants approvals, the FBiH Tax Administration (Porezna uprava Federacije BiH) supervises; RS: Ministry of Finance (Ministarstvo finansija) grants licences, with the Republic Administration for Games of Chance (Republička uprava za igre na sreću); Brčko District: Tax Administration (Poreska uprava) licence before depositing. Check the official register before signing up.

The official register of licensed sitesFBiH: Federal Ministry of Finance (Federalno ministarstvo finansija) grants approvals, the FBiH Tax Administration (Porezna uprava Federacije BiH) supervises; RS: Ministry of Finance (Ministarstvo finansija) grants licences, with the Republic Administration for Games of Chance (Republička uprava za igre na sreću); Brčko District: Tax Administration (Poreska uprava)'s website

Prominent operators in Bosnia and Herzegovina

If a site isn't on the regulator's licensee register, ask the regulator before you play: an unlisted site is usually not licensed here (a register can lag behind a new licence). An unlicensed site is outside the regulator's supervision, so you cannot complain to the regulator about it.

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  Verify the Land-Based Presence

  In the Federation of BiH, only a betting operator approved for at least 50 payment points (betting shops) may take bets online, so a Federation-licensed betting site belongs to a company with shops there. Republika Srpska licenses internet games without requiring shops, so a site with no shops is not necessarily unlicensed: check the operator against the regulators' published lists.

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  Check for Local Bank Transactions

  Legal operators must process all financial transactions through banks located in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If a site pushes you to use obscure international payment processors or only transacts in cryptocurrency, it is a major red flag.

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  Check the operator against the official lists

  The Federal Ministry of Finance publishes a quarterly list of licensed operators (the internet column marks online approval), and Republika Srpska's Ministry of Finance publishes its register of internet licences. Brčko District publishes no list.

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  Confirm Responsible Gambling Tools

  Online operators licensed in Republika Srpska or Brčko District must let you exclude yourself for a period you choose and set daily, weekly and monthly stake limits. The exclusion covers that operator only: there is no national register, and the Federation of BiH law sets no such duty.

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   1. Direct Complaint to the Operator

   The first step for any dispute regarding payouts, bet settlement, or account issues is to contact the customer service department of the licensed operator directly. Operators are required to have procedures for handling player complaints.

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   2. Escalate to the Entity Regulator

   If the operator fails to resolve the issue, the player can file a complaint with the relevant regulatory body: the FBiH Tax Administration/Ministry of Finance, the RS Republic Administration for Games of Chance or the Brčko District Tax Administration. However, these bodies do not have a formal, public-facing ADR service.

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   3. Legal Action

   The final recourse is to pursue a claim through the Bosnian court system. This is often a costly and time-consuming process that may not be practical for smaller disputes.

• Myth

  All my gambling winnings are tax-free.
  Reality

  This is false. In the Federation of BiH, winnings over 100 BAM are taxed at 10%. In Republika Srpska, the rate depends on the size of each winning: 10% over 1,000 BAM, rising in tiers to 30% over 100,000 BAM. In Brčko District, the part of a lottery winning above 100 BAM is taxed at 10% and casino winnings at 25%. The operator is required to withhold this tax.

• Myth

  It's legal to play on any international betting site using a VPN.
  Reality

  It is illegal for unlicensed foreign operators to offer services in BIH. While individual players are not the primary target of enforcement, playing on these sites carries risk and offers no local consumer protection if a dispute arises.

• Myth

  The rules are the same everywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  Reality

  The country has three separate gambling laws and regulators: the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District. Tax rates, licensing rules and player protections differ between them.