Live: "No to Monopoly" Protest at Baghramyan Avenue

Employees of the 'Goodwin-BET' LLC are staging a protest at Baghramyan Avenue, demanding a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan. Hundreds of participants are protesting against the decision made on May 23 by the Permanent Commission on Economic Issues of the National Assembly, which approved measures regarding the operation of betting offices, as reported by News.am.

It is noteworthy that just earlier, 'Goodwin-BET' LLC employees organized a protest in front of the Armenian National Assembly against the decision made by the National Assembly’s Permanent Commission on Economic Issues concerning the operation of betting offices. Afterward, the protesters moved towards Baghramyan Avenue.

The participants of the action state that closing down betting offices will contribute to establishing a monopoly for companies operating in the online domain.

They are holding placards stating: "Online gambling does not pay taxes to the state," and "No to Monopoly."

It should be noted that the Armenian government had approved a draft bill aimed at tightening the conditions for organizing lotteries, developed as part of the fight against gambling addiction. According to this, after the law is adopted, betting offices are set to be closed down, however, the law does not pertain to online services.

The co-authors of the draft are MP Naira Zohrabyan (Prosperous Armenia faction), Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, and MP Sipan Pashinyan (My Step faction). According to the authors, accepting changes to the bill is an important step in the fight against gambling addiction.