Armenia advances gambling reform proposal
The proposed legislation would introduce income-based gambling limits, strengthen self-exclusion tools and restrict participation for welfare recipients.
Armenia.- Draft legislation that aims to reform Armenia’s gambling regulations has passed its first reading in the National Assembly.
Under the proposal, Armenian citizens would be prohibited from spending more than 20 per cent of their declared annual income on gambling. The bill would also ban participation in gambling and online gaming for several groups considered financially or socially vulnerable.
Those affected would include recipients of state assistance programmes, residents of government-funded housing, individuals undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, people with outstanding debts to the state and citizens registered with the National Centre for the Treatment of Addiction. The restrictions would also apply to individuals whose consumer loan obligations exceed 40 per cent of their annual income.
In addition, lawmakers are proposing gambling restrictions for retirees who rely exclusively on pension income and for citizens over the age of 70.
Online gambling operators would be required to display a self-exclusion option prominently on their websites and report all exclusion requests to the relevant authority. Players would be able to voluntarily exclude themselves for a period of five years, with the exclusion automatically renewed unless a request to lift it is submitted shortly before the term expires.
Operators would be required to process self-exclusion requests immediately and would be prohibited from delaying the process, requesting additional documentation, or offering incentives to retain players.
To support enforcement, authorities would establish a centralised player identification system designed to verify whether individuals are subject to gambling restrictions. The government is also considering mechanisms to identify potentially risky behaviour, including frequent changes in a player’s IP address.
