Civil Society from Gambling This Year 214 Million Euros

The regulation on the criteria for determining beneficiaries and the method of distributing part of the revenue from gambling for 2026 was sent for public consultation on Tuesday, and beneficiaries could receive more than 214 million euros this year, significantly more than last year, it was emphasized at the Ministry of Finance conference.

The Chief State Treasurer Danijela Stepić stated that this is a document that is adopted annually, and the Government adopts it based on the Gambling Act.

– It establishes the criteria and percentages by which part of the revenue from gambling is distributed to certain priority program areas – she emphasized, adding that the proposal for distribution and the amount of shares of individual program activities in the total revenue from gambling is based on conducted analyses of priority sector problems.

– Also taken into account were the submitted requests for financing program activities, the amount of financing for similar programs in previous years, the amount of unspent revenue from gambling in previous periods, and the own and earmarked sources of financing of state administration bodies that are at the same time beneficiaries of revenue from gambling – said Stepić.

She emphasized that the new Gambling Act from 2025 has also introduced two new program areas for which money will also be allocated this year – psychosocial empowerment and improving the quality of life of the veteran and victim population from the Homeland War, as well as promoting and preserving the values of the Homeland War, and the demographic revitalization of the Republic of Croatia.

In addition to these two new areas, the distribution of part of the revenue from gambling proposes allocations for programs that promote or deal with the development of sports, combating drug abuse and all other forms of addiction, social and humanitarian activities, addressing the problems and needs of persons with disabilities, technical culture, culture, non-institutional education and upbringing of children and youth, and the development of civil society.

The goals of the distribution are, it was stated, addressing priority sector problems in cooperation with associations and civil society organizations, supporting the development of civil society, and financing program activities that contribute to improving the quality of life in all areas of social life.

– Our estimates are that this regulation redistributes, when we take into account the estimated revenue on this basis for 2026, more than 144.6 million euros. If we also consider the part of the funds that remained carried over from 2025, about 70 million euros, we are talking about 214 million euros that will be allocated for financing these program areas – emphasized Stepić, adding that the Regulation will be sent for public consultation today, which should conclude on June 19.

The mentioned amount, she said, represents a significant increase in total funds for distribution compared to the previous year, when about 130 million euros were available for this purpose.

The representative of the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia Helena Beus emphasized that this Office has been responsible for coordinating financial resource providers for several years in terms of collecting sector analyses from all bodies, and then creating an analytical basis for preparing the Regulation.

– We discussed the proposal of the Regulation with a number of institutions and associations and saw what their priorities were before sending it for public consultation, and after consultations with all state bodies – said Beus, adding that the emphasis is that all these activities, which will be financed in the future, are monitored by civil society organizations.