rmenia will tighten its gambling regulations for online users, with new bans on “at-risk” individuals and stricter betting limits.
The National Assembly of Armenia, the country’s parliament, voted in favor of the regulations during a second and final reading of a new law that will come into force on January 1 next year.
The development comes shortly after lawmakers approved the launch of a new regulatory framework for gaming operators.
Lawmakers said they hope the new measures will protect citizens from gambling addiction, reported Armenia’s Arka News Agency.
Officials said the size of the online gambling market has increased 35x in the space of just eight years.
A lawmaker said the government believes that between 2017 and 2025, Armenians spent around $20 billion on online betting platforms.
Tax revenues from the sector do not reflect the industry’s size and scale, the government said.
The online gambling industry accounts for just 1% of the total government budget revenues.
New Armenia Gambling Rules: Welfare Recipients Face Ban
The new law will require operators and government agencies to block access to online casinos for all citizens receiving government subsidies.
These include people who receive mortgage payments and education fee support, as well as agricultural loan recipients.
Pensioners who receive no income other than their pensions face similar barriers.
The blocks will also extend to people involved in bankruptcy-related legal proceedings, and individuals with “high debt burdens.”
The law will see all individuals with loan payments exceeding 40% of their annual incomes placed into the latter category.
Residents not included on the list will also need to navigate new regulations as of next year: Individuals’ spending on online bets must not exceed 20% of their annual income.
Armenia’s New Betting Kill Switch
Operators will also face a range of new rules.
All online gambling platforms operating in Armenia, including both domestic and overseas operators, must add and “prominently display” auto-blocking, kill-switch-type buttons in their interfaces.
This “button” will allow users who recognize they have a gambling addiction to “block their account with a single click.”
The kill switch will not only block the user from accessing the platform in question but also cut off their access to all other permit-holding platforms.
The law stipulates that any foreign platforms that fail to comply with the new law will be subject to blanket blocking orders.
“After pressing this button, users will not be able to gamble on online casinos for five years, without the possibility of early reinstatement,” said lawmaker Hayk Sargsyan, one of the bill’s chief architects.
“When the five-year period ends, the block will automatically extend for another five years unless the individual applies to lift the restriction five days before it expires.”
Armenia legalized and started regulating land-based casinos in 2004. In 2013, the government restricted casino operators to four official gambling zones.
Last year, the government launched a blanket 10% turnover tax on online and land-based casino operators. The tax also applies to lotteries and sports betting platforms.
In nearby Russia, lawmakers last week approved a measure to fast-track blocking orders on online casino websites.
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