SKOPJE: The Government of North Macedonia has approved a new Draft Law on Games of Chance, which will allocate 3% of all levies from games of chance to the North Macedonia Film Agency, reinstating a funding mechanism that was abolished a decade ago.
The draft law was adopted at a session held on 12 May 2026, and it is now moving into parliamentary procedure.
Until 2015, the North Macedonian Film Agency was partly financed from lottery and betting revenues, but a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling removed that income stream and significantly reduced its budget.
“The restored funding should improve its financial sustainability and functionality, allow for increased support to domestic film production and the development of new creative content, and open up opportunities for backing TV series, debut projects and young filmmakers”, stated the Agency in a public announcement.
The Agency also plans to channel part of these funds into project and script development, cinema network expansion, film publishing and the creation of audiovisual content for children, in line with its broader strategy for strengthening the country’s film ecosystem.
The Macedonian Film Professionals Association welcomed the decision, noting that the mechanism will enable greater and more systematic support for domestic film production and international coproductions, the clearing of outstanding debts, and the reopening of calls for scriptwriting, project development, postproduction, promotion, and TV series.
