Republic of Armenia gained its independence in 1990 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
\nPrior to that the only legal forms of betting were lottery and wagering on horse races. That is why it is not a surprise that gambling in general became extremely popular in Armenia straight after 1990.
\nThe legal aspect of gambling was in the shaping state for decades after that. Despite realising the illegal activities performed in some gambling facilities in the past, such as money-laundering by the organised crime syndicates, Armenia was slow in establishing and concretising laws around gambling industry.
\nIn 2014 authorities implemented a new law that required land-based casinos who wanted to freely operate within the country to move to the resort towns in Armenia including Jermuk and Tsaghkadzor.
\nThe ones who\u2019d wish to stay or start their gambling business in the country\u2019s capital Yerevan could do so only by investing at least $100 million in their gambling sites.
\n2017 was met by the gambling boom in domestic online and land-based market. Controversially Armenian government was putting series of efforts to restrict betting shops and casino gaming facilities across the country. Armenian politicians passed the legislation guaranteeing a casino license for projects that would qualify as major developments.
\nShortly after that, in 2018, Armenia\u2019s parliament started to consider legislation that could further restrict gaming establishments on its territory. This was not quite welcomed within the Armenian population that partially consisted of the gambling staff and operators. As they were not happy with the situation, they took it to the streets by protesting and expressing their anxiousness.
\nIn 2019 Armenian government voted for the bill that would force all gambling establishments to move to the specific zone. According to the adopted amendments to the new gambling legislation, gambling would be banned in public places. It also proposed to block access to online casinos in public places (hotels, cafes, bars, restaurants, Internet clubs, shopping malls, gas stations, etc.) or else the owners of the venues would be significantly fined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"