I Advise Him to Focus on His Actual Work, Not to Follow the Media. P. Fahradyan-H. Hakobyan

The editor of the newspaper 'Hraparak', Armine Ohanian, noted that the legislative initiative of Hrach Hakobyan, the member of the 'My Step' group and son-in-law of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which proposes to ban the advertising of totalizators, bookmakers, and gambling in the media, will lead to significant financial losses for websites, reports Aravot.am.

'The primary source of financial income for websites is from advertisements, and the major advertisers are the bookmakers. If advertising from bookmakers is banned, websites will face significant financial losses. On the other hand, I am not sure that if there is no advertising, people will not use those companies or to what extent removing the advertising contributes to the reduction of the gaming business. Fortunately, the legislative initiative has undergone changes, and now there is talk that rather than removing the advertisements, some form of regulation will be established, there will be limits on the amounts, and time restrictions will be put in place to reduce the effects of that advertising on websites. In any case, this is not the time to be focusing on this advertising; I am sure there are much more important issues facing our country, and if the legislative body were to pass 1000 new bills, this one should be the 999th,' said Paylak Fahradyan, the editor of Irakanum.am.

Fahradyan also believes that the advertising sector is free, and the media can decide whether or not to use advertisements from certain companies. 'I advise the parliament member, the son-in-law of Nikol Pashinyan, to engage in more socially significant legislative acts aimed at uncovering and solving societal issues. At least 80 percent of the residents of Armenia sent the 'My Step' alliance and Hrach Hakobyan to parliament to engage in work, not to get caught up in the media or the journalistic community. This is yet another attempt to exert pressure on the press and deprive it of the financial means by which they can earn money. Perhaps someone has guided Hrach Hakobyan regarding this issue, but since they also have a media outlet, which is a family business, it is interesting to know whether he has asked for his sister's and brother-in-law's opinions on how they view his initiative. I advise the parliament member to take action, not to chase after the media, but to sit quietly in his place or to focus on his actual work.'

Source: Aravot.am