Slot halls to be banned in Latvia

The City Council of Riga, the capital of Latvia, has approved the prohibition of slot halls in the district, exept those at four and five-star hotels.

Latvia.- Riga City Council has voted in favour of prohibiting all slot halls in the district with the exception of those located in four and five-star hotels. The decision to close the 41 gaming halls in the area follows the ruling by the Supreme Court, which approved the rejection of a new venue for the old district by the City Council.

Advisor of the Latvian Gaming Business Association Arnis Verzemnieks was quoted by World Casino News saying that the business district will see less foot traffic due to the ban and it is impossible for operators of Riga to consider long-term investments with the erratic regulatory environment.

One of the affected operators is Olympic Entertainment Group, that will have to close seven slot halls in the area. However, the Olympic Voodoo Casino -its main business in Latvia- will not fall under the ban and the company expects the measure to have a positive impact on its revenues in the long term.

Olympic Entertainment Group CEO Madis Jääger said that the legal department of Riga is preparing closing resolutions for every gambling hall in the city center. The closure would then come within a five-year period after the City Council voted on each venue separately.

According to his projections, the most negative scenario would see the subsidiaries of OEG having to close no earlier than June 2022. The City Council will then vote on each venue separately in regards to shut down and operators will have five years to close their gambling operations at that location.