Armenian Parliament Restricts Advertising of Gambling

By a vote of 63 to 23 abstentions, the Armenian parliament has passed in the second and final reading a set of changes to the law on advertising, which restrict the advertisement of gambling by casinos, lotteries, bookmakers or other organisations that provide the opportunity to make bets. The changes also ensure a level playing field for the industry.

Gambling advertising is allowed only in four-star and higher hotels, border checkpoints and the front of buildings offering gambling. Advertising in other places is prohibited.

The changes were criticised by advertising companies, which claim that about 60-70% of their income is generated through online gambling games. However, according to the government, there are other estimates showing that this figure is only 20-25%.

According to the government, the changes are prompted by the fact that more and more people, especially young ones, are getting addicted to gambling. It says the number of bets made in 2020 increased 6 times as opposed to 2018.

During earlier debates in the parliament on the proposed changes, the head of the parliamentary committee on economic issues Babken Tunyan said that 3.2 trillion dram worth bets had been made in the country from January to November 2021. For comparison, he stressed that the government’s revenues last year amounted to about 1.6 trillion drams.