Simon’s Guide to Gambling in San Marino
Gambling and Casinos in San Marino
Gambling is legal and regulated, and there is currently one legally operating casino in San Marino. However, prior to 2007, casinos in San Marino were outlawed.
San Marino is a small land-locked country near the eastern shores of Italy. It claims to be the oldest sovereign state in the world, having obtained its independence from the Roman Empire in ad. 301.
It only has borders with Italy, so it’s needless to say, that the country has a huge economic influence over San Marino. It was part of the reason that casinos in San Marino were outlawed shortly after their legalisation in 1949. The Italians, unhappy about the effect on Venice’s gaming proceeds, schemed to suffocate the newly established casino in San Marino. The Italians – allegedly – “instituted laborious customs checks, with everyone entering San Marino — residents and visitors, gamblers and non-gamblers — being subjected to an examination that included the removal of the wheels from their car. After a year and a half of harassment, San Marino gave in and closed the casino”*.
However, the climate seems to have changed considerably since than, as a company called Giochi del Titano was founded on May 2, 2007 in the Republic of San Marino. With it’s majority shareholder being the State of San Marino, it was founded to operate gambling premises in the country under Law No. 67 of 25 July 2000**. The company established a casino in San Marino that year, in the town of Rovereta, bearing the company’s name.
The aforementioned legislation enacted in 2000 provides a legal framework for controlling, overseeing and taxing the gambling industry as well as for the licensing of operators. Online gambling is also regulated in a subsequent amendment to the Act, signed into law in 2014***. The legislative document states, that online gambling is legal, but operators must be licensed by the authorities, and their servers have to be located in San Marino. However, there is no reported internet censoring system of any kind in place in San Marino and neither the law, nor the amendment mentions anything about the liability of players. It is therefore safe to assume, that players from San Marino are free to access foreign online gambling websites.
*Source: Big Man, Little Countries: San Marino
**Source: The Official Website of Giochi del Titano
***Source: Repubblica di San Marino Decreto Delegato 29 luglio 2014 n.126
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Summary:
- Casino gambling in San Marino
- Bingo in San Marino
- Poker in San Marino
- Sports betting in San Marino
- Lottery in San Marino
- Bitcoin gambling in San Marino
Casino gambling in San Marino
Online casino gambling in San Marino: legal and licensed
Land based casinos are legal and licensed in San Marino, under Law No. 67 of 25 July 2000. There is currently one such venue in operation, Giochi del Titano, ran by the state-backed company with the same name. The casino offers poker tables, slots, a keno hall and classic casino games.
Online casinos are also eligible for a licence, but only if the company providing them is licensed by the state and its servers are located between the borders of San Marino. However, a country of 32,000 is not an online gambling market any international company would really try to acquire a licence for.
Foreign online sites do not appear to be blocked and there are no laws in place criminalising gambling on foreign platforms on the level of the individual player. Sammarinese players are therefore free to access and place bets with such sites.
The following online casinos accept players from San Marino:
BGO casino – accepting players from San Marino
32 Red casino – accepting players from San Marino
Betsson online casino – accepting players from San Marino
Betsafe online casino – accepting players from San Marino
Casino Euro – accepting players from San Marino
Black lotus casino – accepting players from San Marino
Lotus Asia casino – accepting players from San Marino
GT Bets accepts players from San Marino- accepting Bitcoins as well
Bingo in San Marino
Online bingo in San Marino: legal and licensed
The country’s single casino doesn’t appear to have a bingo hall, nor is there any indication anywhere of a separate bingo hall in operation in the country.
According to the 2014 legislative text amending Law No. 67 of 25 July 2000, online bingo halls are, theoretically, eligible for a licence in San Marino. Unlicensed online gambling sites are technically illegal, but players are not prosecuted for placing bets with such sites, according to Sammarinese law.
The following bingo websites accept players from San Marino:
BGO bingo – accepting players from San Marino
Betsson Bingo – accepting registrations from San Marino
32 Red Bingo – accepting registrations from San Marino
Poker in San Marino
Online poker in San Marino: legal and licensed
Giochi del Titano, the only licensed casino in San Marino has poker tables. Moreover, in 2013, the opening event of the Italian Poker Tour was organised in San Marino, although not in the del Titano, but the Centro Congressi San Marino, which is a conference hall in the building that originally served as the country’s first casino, until 1949.
Online poker also appears to be legal and regulated and operators with a licence can legally operate in San Marino. However, this law doesn’t seem to be enforced, and Sammarinese players appear to be free to access foreign online poker sites.
The following online poker sites accept players from San Marino:
Betsson online Poker – accepting players from San Marino
Betsafe online Poker – accepting players from San Marino
32 Red online Poker – accepting players from San Marino
Sports betting in San Marino
Online sports betting in San Marino: legal and licensed
Sports betting activities are theoretically legal in San Marino, although there is no indication of any legal betting shops in operation in the country.
Online sports betting is legal and tied to a licence as well, but foreign online sports books don’t seem to be banned and players are not prosecuted for placing bets with foreign online bookmakers.
The following online sportsbooks accept registrations from San Marino:
Betsson online sportsbook – accepting registrations from San Marino
Betsafe online bookmaker – accepting registrations from San Marino
32 Red sport online sportsbook – accepting players from San Marino
GT Bets online bookmaker – accepts registrations from San Marino, also accepts Bitcoin
Lottery in San Marino
Online lottery in San Marino: legal and licensed
There appears to be no state lottery in operation in San Marino, but the Giochi del Titano does operate a keno hall.
According to the 2014 amendment to the law of 2000, lottery and online lottery operators are eligible for a licence in San Marino. There also don’t appear to be any regulations in place restricting players form participating in foreign lottery draws thorough the internet.
The following websites let people from San Marino purchase lottery tickets online:
Coming soon!
Bitcoin gambling in San Marino
Bitcoin gambling in San Marino: not regulated
There don’t appear to be any regulations in place in San Marino restricting the use of Bitcoin or other digital currencies. Foreign online operators also don’t appear to be blocked or banned in any way, therefore it is safe to assume that Sammarinese players are free to place bets with foreign Bitcoin gambling platforms.
The following Bitcoin casinos accept players from San Marino:
GT Bets accepts players from San Marino, and also accepts Bitcoin
If you have questions or any feedback don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. Please let me know in the comments section if you think we might have gotten something wrong or if you have additional information, clarification about the legal status of online gambling in this country.
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This page is part of Simon’s List – Legal Status of Online Gambling – a definitive guide to the legal status of all forms of online gambling activities in every country around the world.
Last updated: 2016-06-19
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