North Macedonia online casinos for Real Money

North Macedonia doesn’t have an issue with its residents and citizens gambling – at all. Players have been invited to bet in Macedonia’s land-based casinos since as far back as 1991. Online gambling effectively became legal in 2014 (well, lotteries did), with casino gambling and other forms of online betting legalised as recently as 2020.

Before 2014, Macedonia didn’t permit its residents and nationals to gamble online. Realising that they were fighting a losing battle, the country decided to legalise sectors of the online gambling industry (namely the lottery) and award them as monopolies to the National Video Lottery of the Republic of Macedonia. This was run alongside Casinos Austria, which uses a similar system.

However, this didn’t wash with the European Union, into which Macedonia was trying to join (and, incidentally, another reason why the country’s name changed due to opposition from Greece). Therefore, in 2020, the entire industry was redeveloped with official licenses handed out to Macedonia and offshore (EU) operators alike, with the scope broadened to include online casinos and sports betting.

Today, Macedonia still blacklists any offshore casinos that haven’t applied for a license, as they are permitted to do under EU rules. However, the ISP (internet service provider) blacklists aren’t overly effective, and as a result, most online casinos, and sportsbooks – even some mainstream ones – tend to escape the blocks.

North Macedonia naturally wants you to play at internet casinos that are licensed and regulated in the state. If you want a tailored experience, then this is what we recommend, too. However, if you want a more diverse experience, then you can join offshore (non-Macedonian licensed) casinos. Playing at such sites is not punishable in Macedonia, either.

The Ministry of Finances is directly responsible for licensing gambling sites based in Macedonia. This dual-language body requires casino operators to have at least €500,000 in the bank and a deposit of €300,000. Furthermore, the Law on Inspection Supervision offers quite a degree of regulation to the industry. Each gambling license is valid for six years and costs around €600,000, making it one of the cheaper alternatives out there for European operators.
Of course, you won’t be punished if you choose to visit offshore casinos, either. These are betting sites that aren’t licensed in Macedonia but still cater to players from the European country. Because there are so many of these sites around, you need to ensure that you’re playing at a trusted, reputable source. Our selection of top Macedonian online casinos has been vetted to ensure that they fit the bill in terms of licensing, regulation, and responsible gambling tools.

Macedonians play all manner of gambling games, but from our research, we found that table games – in particular, RNG (random number generator) table games – tend to be the most popular with players. Of these, Single Deck Blackjack and Live Roulette tend to lead the way. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is all Macedonians bet on. Online gamblers in North Macedonia are also fond of slot machines and sports betting. The lottery is also a popular option for bettors in the country.
One of the more obscure titles to find favour with Macedonians is online craps. This doesn’t have a huge following in online casinos across the world, but it seems to have found a home amongst Macedonian bettors. We couldn’t identify any major casino software providers hailing from the European country, so most of the games you’ll find at Macedonian casinos are delivered by fellow EU software providers for the most part, with a great many coming from Scandinavia and the UK.

North Macedonia’s online casinos are technically open to everyone, although the use of local currencies and languages limits their appeal to those based elsewhere in the European Union. Some do offer gameplay in English, and that is worth considering. Naturally, these sites are all licensed and regulated according to local law.
Offshore casinos also accept Macedonians, although many require native players to use the euro currency. Gameplay is seldom available in Macedonian at foreign sites, so many North Macedonians choose to play in English, other Slavic languages, or for those who can speak it, Greek.