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G3-247 Report LATVIA MARKET REPORT


winning definition and it does not provide a common understanding of the definition of gambling advertising especially the interactive environment and mass media.”


It is expected that the new bill will include the follow- ing:


l Clarify the conditions currently existing and defini- tions of gambling.


l Outline the requirements of advertising bans l Provide a new definition of card tournaments


l Prohibit cash transaction of Latvian credit institutes to internet addresses which deal with unlicensed gambling.


l Blocking of unauthorised IP addresses.


l Inspection officers can have access to databases and servers where player data is stored.


l Age limit for gambling to be set at 21 (not in draft law but suggested as an additional point)


There are currently 22 gaming licences issued by the IAUI including one lottery company, 17 landbased gam- ing operators and four online operators.


In the first quarter of 2014 the revenues from all sectors


amounted to a total of €41m divided between slots (77 per cent), lotteries (12.6), tables


(seven), online gaming (two), betting (0.6) and bingo (0.2)


There are 325 gaming halls and six casinos currently open in Latvia. There are a total of 8,326 slots across these venues and these slots saw gross gaming revenues of €142m in 2013.


Of the 17 landbased gaming companies the biggest com- panies include ALFOR (Admiral Clubs) with a GGR of €51.7m in 2013 followed by Olympic Casino with €34.1m GGR, Joker with €20.8m, Admiral with €18.2m, DLV with €8m and Furors with €7.1m


In the first quarter of 2014 the revenues from all sectors amounted to a total of €41m and this was divided between slot machines with the biggest amount (77 per cent), lotteries (12.6 per cent), gaming tables (seven per cent), online gaming (two per cent), betting (0.6 per cent) and bingo (0.2 per cent)


Meanwhile taxes and duties paid to the Latvian govern- ment included €24.7m paid to the state budget, €6.8m to the municipalities and €119m in duty on sales promo- tion lotteries and €134.8m paid in other taxes.


According to the current Gambling and Lotteries Law the following points include:


7 0


l Gambling can only be operated within casinos, gam- bling halls, bingo halls and totalisator venues. In January 2007 the Gaming and Lotteries law prohibit- ed the operation of gaming machines outside of casi- nos and gaming halls. Previously there were around 300 to 400 locations (and as many as 3,000 loca- tions back in 2001), where machines were operated.


l Casinos must have at least 10 gaming tables if locat- ed in Riga and five gaming tables outside of Riga.


l Gaming halls must have at least 20 slot machines.


l Prize money in casinos can be paid immediately if €750 or less. For amounts of €750-€14,300 this is paid within 24 hours and amounts over €14,300 will be paid out within 30 days.


l Online gaming is permitted for slots, roulette, e- cards, bingo, totalisator and games of chance on the telephone. Licences are issued to capital companies.


l The state fee applicable for slots, bingo, roulette, cards and dice games is:


1. €427,000 for special licences 2. €35,580 for continuation of licence 3. €35,580 for yearly re-registration of licence 4. €28,460 per year for permission to operate a casino


5. €4,270 per year for permission to operate a gaming or bingo hall.


l The state fee for totalisator and betting includes: 1. €42,690 for a special licence 2. €42,690 for continuation of the licence 3. €42,690 for yearly re-registration of the licence l For operation of games of chance via the telephone: 1. €14,230 for a special licence 2. €14,230 for continuation of the licence


The Gambling and Lotteries Law authorises the right to organise state level lotteries which is then organised by just one state owned joint stock company - Latvijas Loto. One requirement is that the total value of lottery tickets may not be less than €140,000. Local lotteries are organised within one city, district, county or parish and total value of tickets must not be more than €14,300, whilst local scale type lotteries are organised during public events with the total value of tickets sold not worth more than €720 with no money prizes awarded. They also pay a 10 per cent tax from ticket sales.


3. €14,230 for yearly re-registration of the licence l Yearly taxes include: 1. €17,279 for roulette tables 2. €17,279 for cards and dice games per table 3. €3,141 for slot machines.


4. Tax on game of chance via the telephone is 15 per cent of GGR


5. Gaming tax for totalisator and betting is 15 per cent of GGR


6. Gaming tax of bingo games is 10 per cent of GGR 7. Online gaming tax is 10 per cent of GGR.


Types of Gambling permitted include:


l Slot machines l Roulette l Game of cards l Dice l Bets l Totalisator l Bingo games l Interactive gambling


l To obtain a licence for gambling operations the amount of paid stock capital must be not less than €1.4m whilst the interest of foreign members or stockholders shall not be more than 49 per cent.


l Licenses are issued by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection without term limitation but re-registered each year.


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