G3-247 Report LATVIA MARKET REPORT
The online gambling landscape is due to change as and when the new bill comes into place at some point this year. Online gambling has been permitted since 2006 and operators were charged a 10 per cent interactive betting tax which didn’t stop some 160 operational sites from springing up. However the draft law published in 2011 is now aimed at blocking unlicensed websites and financial transactions with unlicensed operator’s bank accounts. This new law is still in process and is expected to come into force during 2014. However there are several changes such as blocking access to domains and financial restrictions which came into play in August 2014.
changes such as blocking access to domains and financial restrictions which came into play in August 2014.
The amendments mean there will now be a specific general licence for online games with a €1.4m share- holders capital required alongside a €100,000 licence fee and annual renewal fee of €36,000.
There will be an ISP ban on unlicensed operator’s websites and payment ban to unlicensed operators bank accounts. There is a five per cent tax on GGR.
It is also being discussed as to whether licensed oper- ators will be able to advertise during the Olympic Games and other related events, but otherwise adver- tising is restricted.
There are currently only four licensed companies operating in the online sector, with three more in review. It is thought foreign companies will wait to see how the domain blocking will work before appli-
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OEG entered the Latvian
market in 2002 by setting up Olympic Casino Latvia.
Currently it operates 38 gaming halls in Riga and the main cities. Of these 22 branches operate under Olympic Casino brand.
cations for licences. The current operators are:
OPTIBET. This company is a subsidiary of the Lifland Gaming Group which is wholly owned by Nordic Leisure AB. Optibet conducts its gaming activities via a licence from the IAUI.
Lifland was formed in 2011 to be a holding company for all gaming related businesses belonging to Nordic
The sportsbook platform offers around 14,000 pre game events per month and over 400,000 side bets per month in the live bet feature. There are 160 casino games from blackjack to roulette and Optibet was the fist and only casino operator offering live casino in blackjack, roulette and baccarat.
In April this year NYX Interactive, part of the Swedish
Leisure. In 2013 the sister company Redbet was sold. Today Lifland has subsidiaries in Estonia, Latvia and Malta and is the leading i-gaming company in Latvia. They have two brands – Optibet, which is available in Latvia and Estonia and Gold Club
Casino.com (Malta)
Optibet has had land based betting shops in operation for the last 14 years and since 2008 has offered casino and sportsbook products online on
Optibet.lv.
Optibet was founded in 2005 and currently offers a full range of sportsbook features and 160 casino games to Latvian customers.
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