Latvia
S
ince independence the Latvian gambling market has seen significant growth. Back in the early 1990s the growth was fairly
uncoordinated which was mainly due to the lack of gambling regulations and most of the development began in the late 1990s onwards.
In the summer of 1991 the first casino opened in Latvia and around the same time the number of companies organising lotteries also began to grow.
All this changed in 1995 when a new law was introduced to regulate the sector. The Law on Lotteries and Gambling was adopted by Saeima (parliament) and was amended nine times over the next 10 years before being replaced in 2006.
At the moment the market is regulated by the Gambling and Lotteries Law of 2006. This includes the following relating to the sports betting sector and main sectors.
l 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.
9 2
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) and gaming tables (seven per cent).
l
Gambling can only be operated within casinos, gambling halls, bingo halls and totalisator venues. In January 2007 the Gaming and Lotteries law prohibited the operation of gaming machines outside of casinos and gaming halls.
Casinos must have at least 10 gaming tables if located in Riga and five gaming tables outside of Riga.
l
Gaming halls must have at least 20 slot machines.
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
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