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Latvia, officially known as the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states, with Riga being both the capital and the largest city.
Regarding the legality of gambling, most forms, including online gambling, are approved and supervised by the country’s regulatory body in charge. Only a limited number of activities, such as social gaming as well as skill games and competitions with no element of chance are not regulated yet. Betting on the outcome of blood sports is explicitly prohibited. National Lottery is operated by SJSC Latvijas Lot.
Overview
To start with, the entire gambling industry of Latvia relies on the Gambling and Lotteries Law 2006 as the key legislation. Although the online gambling legislation tax was passed in 2003, some major changes took place a couple of years later.
In early 2011, the government came up with some proposals for changes in the legislation, most of which were in regard to license fee structures, taxation, age restrictions, and regulatory oversight. The amendments were passed in 2013, while a year later interactive gambling regulators from Latvia and France met to discuss areas of cooperation in order to enhance player protection measures.
Taking a look at the remaining Baltic counties, they also have well-organized gambling industries, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the market is thriving. Almost all forms of gambling are permitted in Lithuania (with a couple of exceptions that are still unregulated), and the situation is relatively similar in Estonia.
Local Regulator
Established on January 1, 1998, Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of the Republic of Latvia is the body in charge of supervising the gambling industry in the country. An important detail to mention is that this institution operates under the Ministry of Finance.
The Inspection is managed by the Director of Inspection, with Assistant Director, Deputy Director, Control Department, and Legal Department operating under the subordination. Each department has a different scope of duties.
Regarding the Control Department, one of the key tasks of this sector is to secure compliance with laws and regulations governing lotteries and gambling, lotteries of goods and services within Latvia. The Legal Department is in charge of drafting statutes, laws, and regulations related to the arrangement of lotteries and gambling, review of documents submitted by capital companies in order to receive a license.
In short, the Inspection needs to ensure that:
- gambling is safe for consumers by issuing licenses to trustworthy companies only and supervising the market continuously
- operators are compliant with the local laws and requirements (both technical and regulatory)
Aside from the official gambling regulator, there’s the Latvian Interactive Gambling Association, a non-governmental organization that gathers the representatives of Latvia’s interactive gambling industry. Its goal is to ensure players can gamble in a contemporary, technologically advanced, and socially responsible industry.
Its principles are based on the positive examples of Estonia, Denmark, and other European Union member states. Some of the casinos the association cooperates with include the likes of Optibet, TonyBet Casino, and more.
Licensing and Taxes
According to Article 8 of the relevant Law, an interested operator may receive a license to offer gambling products and services if:
“1) it is a capital company registered in the Republic of Latvia and the amount of paid-up share capital whereof being not less than 1,400,000 euros;
2) the interest of foreign members or stockholders in the capital company share capital shall not exceed 49 percent. This requirement does not apply to investors (residents) of the Member States of the European Union, the countries of the European Economic Area, and the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as cases where foreign agreements are governed by international agreements approved by the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia.”
Starting the day the application is submitted, the inspection has 90 days to either issue or refuse to issue the license to the interested party. As for the reregistration procedure, the applicants will receive the answer (positive or negative), within 30 days starting the day a company has submitted the request.
Regarding the tax levels, they differ based on the type of activity. For example, land-based gaming is taxed at 15% of gross win plus an annual fee for each device- €3,141.70 for gaming machines and €17,279.36 for table games. Land-based betting is taxed at 15%, while land-based bingo is taxed at 10% of the gross win. All interactive gambling is taxed at 10% of the gross win. Also, the annual license fee for live dealer casino game providers is set at a fixed cost of €400k.
Speaking of live dealer games, Latvia is home to both Playtech and Evolution live dealer studios.
Player Protection
Players from Latvia can be at ease as the local gambling regulator and the government both work on keeping the market safe. They have implemented versatile strict measures and precautions to prevent online gamblers from accessing illegal gambling sites.
What does that mean?
Latvians can gamble online, but only on onshore platforms licensed by the local regulator. It is strictly prohibited to gamble on foreign websites. There’s a blacklist with prohibited domains where operators who aren’t permitted to serve local consumers are listed. As of February 2015, the list amounted to 530 names.
What’s even more, the local internet service providers who discover a player trying to access illegal gambling sites can report the incident directly to the government. The actions against such individuals will be taken immediately.
In addition to this, the government prohibits Latvian banks to process payments of players who take part in such activities. This means that protection is enhanced in multiple sectors, ensuring people can gamble in a safe and well-organized environment.
Also, the official website of Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection Republic of Latvia contains a register of self-excluded persons. The purpose of this register is to enable people to restrict themselves from gambling, if they feel the need to.
The prohibition applies to participation in all gambling and interactive lotteries referred to in the law. A person can limit him/herself for a minimum of 12 months.
Further Reading
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