Best Online Casinos - Croatia

Unlike many other European countries, Croatia came to terms with gambling fairly early, legalizing and regulating the industry back in the 1960s. Within the six republics of Yugoslavia, Croatia had certain restrictions on sports betting but still allowed many forms of wagering real money. 

When the country obtained independence in the early 90s, the gambling sector started growing rapidly. Much of it had to do with the country’s investment in growing its tourism sector and attracting international travelers to the beautiful beaches and luxurious hotels. Many of these hotels had slot machines and table games among their services, and this was extremely popular with the tourists. By the 2020s, the country had more than 15 well-established brick-and-mortar casinos.

Today, both games of chance and sportsbook services are legal. As of 2010, the online gambling sector is recognized and regulated, too. To wager money online, players must be 18 or older. When it comes to Sportsbook, bingo, and keno, Croatia is very specific — wagering is allowed only via locally licensed operators. In terms of slots and live dealer games, however, gamblers can also head to international lobbies and they should not be afraid of getting penalized for that.

The official body in charge of licensing online and land-based casinos is the Ministry of Finance. It acts in accordance with the gambling law known as Zakon o igrama na sreću’. However, considering a complex licensing procedure, hefty fees, and high taxes, there are not that many applicants among the local businesses. As for the international brands, those that have registrations within the European Union can legally cater to Croatian gamblers without the need to apply for a local license.

Speaking of the taxes, the system is based on the total amount of wins. Anyone who scores winnings under 10,000 HRK will need to pay a 10% tax. Winnings between 10,000 to 30,000 HRK will be taxed at a 15% rate. Wins that exceed 30,000 HRK come with a tax rate of 20%.

Croatian currency, kuna, is available in less than 3% of Croatia-friendly websites on our gambling portal. That makes for about 20 online operators, including locations like Casino Cruise and Casino Masters. Alternatively, gamers from Croatia can use EUR, which is available in more than 500 online operators. The list includes but is not limited to Mansion Casino and Grand Fortune Casino.

In terms of processing payments, most websites on our list will allow a standard set of international cards and e-wallets that are suitable to Croatian players and come with low processing fees. The most popular method is Visa available in more than 600 cashiers, including Thunderbolt Casino. Following it in terms of popularity is another card, MasterCard, included in 580+ lobbies, such as Coral Casino.

In terms of e-wallets, Skrill beats most of the competitors since it is available in 520+ lobbies, and PayPal is the leader among payment services and is included in 90+ cashiers.

All these payment methods are accessible and easy to use, and they also have great payout speeds. Of course, a lot will depend on the selected online operator, but e-wallets are known for delivering payments within 24 hours or less. And it will take between two to three workdays to receive wins to a card.

In terms of games, the most popular cohort of releases among Croatian players is all sorts of slot machines. The market is friendly to all the popular international suppliers, including Net Entertainment, Play’n GO, Microgaming, Pragmatic Play, Novomatic, Playtech, RealTime Gaming, Yggdrasil Gaming, IGT, and ELK. As for the local suppliers, this niche is yet to be occupied by the Croatian studios. Meanwhile, the only homemade brand known outside of the country is Lotto Instant Win.

Besides slots, players from the reviewed country also enjoy roulette in all its variations. Two of the studios to offer the best selection of live roulette games are the following providers: Ezugi and Evolution Gaming.