Belarus is set to legalise online casinos after President Alexander Lukashenko singed a Corresponding Decree No. 305 on Tuesday, according to Belarusian news outlet BeITA.
The new law will allow online providers to launch legal online casinos, albeit with a few conditions.
A licence will only be granted to operators that deposit funds to a designated account, which will be used to cover any winnings or tax payments should the venture fail. Tax authorities will have remote access to the site and all casinos should be connected to a special payment system for the monitoring of money flow.
In order to protect users, the minimum age for online gambling has also be increased from 18 to 21. This age limit will apply to all casinos, online and land-based. Additionally, visitors to online casinos will also have to undergo identity checks.
All casinos will be expected to install surveillance systems, and punters will not be allowed to lend money to other players to gamble. The tax rate is also expected to stay the same.
The main reason for the new legislation is to prevent people from accessing online gambling sites overseas, although there has been no time frame given as to when this legislation goes live.
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