Luxembourg is preparing a monopoly on lotteries and casinos

The Luxembourg Parliament is increasingly discussing an issue that until recently remained on the periphery of public attention: gambling addiction. On 31 October 2025, MPs returned to this topic in a parliamentary interpellation initiated by Dan Biancalana of the socialist LSAP party. His main question to the government: what is being done to restrict access to slot machines in cafes and what measures are planned for online gambling and sports betting?

Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue has confirmed that a reform is in the pipeline which will see the introduction of a legal monopoly on gambling in favour of the National Lottery and an official casino. As part of this reform, cafes will be able to exclusively host National Lottery machines - all other forms of gambling, including so-called 'skill games', will be banned. The plan is thus to cleanse everyday public spaces of readily available gambling incentives.

Regarding online gambling, the Minister cautiously floated the idea of licensing casinos for online activities, but stressed that the issue is complex. In particular, the EU legal framework, which allows the creation of a monopoly only if there is a real protection of citizens, has to be sorted out. Also in question is the possibility of geo-blocking and technical means of restricting access. Discussions are underway in the government with the involvement of all stakeholders.

Health Minister Martine Deprez has presented a worrying statistic: between 2020 and 2024, the number of people seeking help for gambling addiction will almost triple to 100 per year, with the majority of them men. In response to this increase, the funding for the Centre for Behavioural Addictions (Zentrum fir exzessiv Verhalen - ZEV) was increased from 220,000 euros in 2020 to 560,000 euros in 2024.

Despite the relatively small scale compared to other countries, this is a significant and alarming figure for Luxembourg. Gambling addiction itself often remains hidden - both to others and to the individual. It is all the more important that the parliament openly discusses not only prohibition measures, but also the emphasis on prevention and support for addicts.