Serbia's election brings gambling advertising and retail policy into focus

Preliminary results published by the Serbian government on 26 October give the Student List 52.71% of the votes counted and 140 parliamentary seats, based on returns from 8,187 polling stations. The results and seat allocation remain preliminary. Former president Aleksandar Vučić resigned in September, with the parliamentary speaker assuming the acting presidency. His 9 September decree had dissolved the Assembly and called the poll for 25 October. A change of parliamentary majority does not itself amend gambling law, licences or advertising controls.

For operators, the policy exposure is nevertheless material. The contest has brought two separate questions into focus: whether restrictions on gambling marketing reach sponsorships, branded charitable activity and storefront visibility, and whether retail density should be managed through payment controls, outlet limits or a public-health charge. The current location regime remains in force pending any bill.

Advertising is the political fault line

The Zeleno levi front (ZLF) published a proposal on 31 March that would prohibit gambling advertising in public spaces and electronic media. It would also prohibit gambling organisers from sponsoring media, programmes, athletes, sports clubs and competitions, and would bar charitable activity naming an organiser, including activity by connected foundations.

That is a broad brand-relationship restriction, not merely a time-of-day rule. It could affect sports rights, shirt deals, media funding and cause marketing. It is ZLF policy, not a confirmed Student List platform.

SSP’s published programme takes a narrower advertising model but goes deeper into operations. It proposes no advertising aimed at minors or placed in school and children’s settings, no influencers or public figures targeting young people, and television and radio advertising only roughly after 22:00 with addiction warnings. Sponsorship of professional senior clubs’ shirts could remain transitional, while youth-club shirt sponsorship would be banned.

SSP separately proposes card or verified-account payments, player identification, a central register, limits and self-exclusion, alongside outlet caps based on population, density and proximity to schools. It also proposes a public-health tax on gross gambling revenue, dedicated to treatment and prevention. No levy rate is stated.

N1 reported on 15 September that the Student List’s 11-point programme emphasised institutional reform, tax administration and asset recovery, public procurement, media, education, housing and healthcare. It does not establish a gambling ban. The practical question is whether the new government adopts either party’s measures, writes a different bill or leaves current controls in place.

Retail controls already have a technical framework

Existing retail controls use certified distance measurements. The Games of Chance Administration explains that the Law on Games of Chance, articles 67 and 82, requires an automat club or betting shop to be at least 200 metres from primary and secondary school buildings attended by children, minors and young adults up to 19. A second threshold is 100 metres between betting shops, automat clubs and gaming halls.

These are not straight-line or online-map tests. Distance is the shortest safe pedestrian route, from the nearest edge of the school building to the outlet entrance, or between entrances. A traffic expert assesses the route’s safety, an authorised surveyor measures it, and the Republic Geodetic Authority issues the certificate used in approval and renewal proceedings.

Article 138(3) preserves a significant retail distinction. The 100-metre inter-outlet limit does not apply to a location where the operator held approval before 11 April 2020, when the current law began applying. It is not a general exemption from the school-distance rule.

SSP’s proposed risk map, moratorium on new school-zone permits until mapping is complete, possible loss of licences for non-compliant existing sites and restrictions on aggressive shopfronts would therefore add concentration and visibility controls to a certified distance system. For operators, that is a footprint and refurbishment question, not only an advertising question.

The incoming government inherits wider regulatory commitments

The incoming administration also inherits policies outside gambling. In May, the European Commission said that 18 Serbian banks had joined SEPA schemes, following Serbia’s entry into SEPA’s geographical scope in 2025. In January 2025, the government adopted an Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy for 2025-2030.

These measures predate the election. SEPA participation concerns payment infrastructure; the AI strategy sets policy direction. For firms operating across these sectors, a change of parliamentary majority is a reason to follow implementation decisions, rather than assume that existing arrangements have been replaced.

For operators, Atlas’s watchlist is the composition of the next cabinet, its published programme, and any advertising, sponsorship, retail or payment bill subsequently brought before the Assembly. Compliance teams should then test the final text against the existing 200-metre and 100-metre rules and watch whether agencies enforce any new restrictions on marketing, outlet density, payment identification or the proposed levy.

*Correction, 26 October 2026: This article now identifies Aleksandar Vučić as a former president and includes the latest preliminary election results.*