During the last year, 25 companies engaged in betting made a net profit of 11,3 billion dinars, while more than 28 billion dinars were paid into the Serbian budget from this activity.
Although the sector's profit betting in Serbia during 2025 decreased by more than 20 percent compared to the previous year, bookmakers are still among the most profitable businesses in the country. According to the data from the financial reports available to the Agency for Business Registers, 25 companies engaged in betting made a total net profit of 11,3 billion dinars, that is, about 96,6 million euros. New economy.
The decline in profits, however, does not mean that citizens bet less. On the contrary, the business income of the largest companies continued to grow, while the state significantly increased the income from fees that organizers of games of chance have to pay.
There are 29 betting shops operating in Serbia. More precisely, 29 companies provide betting services, either in traditional casinos or via the Internet. New Economy analyzed the financial reports of 25 companies, and the reports of four companies are still not published.
At the same time, the market remains highly concentrated. The four largest operators - Mozzart, Soccer Bet, Balkan Bet and Merkur - together achieved almost the entire profit of the sector.
In the course of 2025, judging by the reports of the Agency for Business Registers, Mozzart made a profit of 4,3 billion dinars (about 36,8 million euros), which is less than in 2024, when the profit of that company was 5,3 billion. Last year, Mozart achieved a business income of 29,8 billion dinars, while in 2024 it amounted to 26,5 billion.
Second in terms of realized profit in 2025 is the company Phuket (Soccer bet) with 4,2 billion dinars (35,9 million euros) and business income of 16,8 billion dinars. The profit and business income of this company in the previous year, 2024, were somewhat lower. Soccer bet's profit in 2024 amounted to 3,3 billion dinars, while operating income was 13,7 billion.
The third company that provides betting services, which had the highest profit in 2025, is Balkan bet. This company made a profit of close to 2,25 billion dinars (19,13 million euros), which is an increase of slightly more than 432 million dinars compared to the previous year. The business revenues of this company also increased in 2025 compared to 2024 and amounted to 12,9 billion dinars.
The company Pionir International, which deals with this activity, made a profit of 1,35 billion dinars (11,5 million euros) and thus found itself in the fourth place in terms of realized profit in 2025. In 2025, Pionir International increased its profit by almost 380 million dinars compared to 2024, according to financial reports in the Agency for Economic Registers. The company's revenues also increased in one year from 8,7 billion in 2024 to 10,4 billion in 2025, writes New Economy.
Last year, the state earned significantly more from the gaming sector than the companies themselves earned.
More than 28 billion dinars, i.e. around 239 million euros, were paid into the budget of Serbia in 2025 in the name of various fees for organizing games of chance.
Compared to 2024, budget revenues from fees have increased by almost 35 percent. One of the reasons lies in the amendments to the Law on games of chance, adopted at the end of 2024, which increased the organizer's obligations towards the state. Fees, which were previously 10 percent, have been increased to 15 percent.
In other words, a decrease in bookmakers' profits does not necessarily mean that the market has weakened. On the contrary, most of the money generated through betting now ends up in the state coffers.
According to the data of the Administration for Games of Chance, at the end of 2025, 2.849 betting shops operated in Serbia, i.e. 66 fewer than a year earlier.
The largest concentration of facilities is in Belgrade, where more than a quarter of all betting shops in the country operate. 112 buildings were registered in New Belgrade alone, Nova ekonomija writes.
The trend of reducing the number of branches has been going on for several years, but online betting is developing in parallel. Today, 25 companies hold licenses for electronic betting, which allows the continued growth of the market despite the smaller number of physical premises.
Unlike Serbia, which opted for a model of strict regulation and taxation, in the region there were also attempts at more radical measures.
The best-known example is Kosovo, which in 2019 imposed a ten-year ban on casinos and betting shops after several serious crimes related to gambling facilities. The state lottery remained an exception.
In late 2018, Albania virtually banned sports betting and most forms of gambling, closing more than 4.000 bookmakers. However, the authorities gave up on that model after a few years, judging that the ban did not suppress the illegal market. In 2024, Albania again legalized sports betting in a strictly controlled online form.
In other countries of the region - Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia - betting is not prohibited, but operates through a system of licenses, taxes and various restrictions on advertising.
Source: New Economy/Time
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