Having 40 Bookmaker Offices in Yerevan is Enough for Families to Break Apart, Says Gabrielian

“I am a little disappointed because, in reality, we are not doing what we promised. We promised to close them, but now if we leave one in every administrative district, there are four companies, and thus we leave 40 offices operating in Yerevan. Tomorrow, if the fifth company opens, there will be 50 offices. For Yerevan, even 40 offices are enough for people to lose their homes and break apart their families,” said Sisak Gabrielian, a member of the 'My Step' faction, during the second reading of the draft law on amendments to the RA law on lotteries on October 2 during an NA session.

It is noteworthy that the draft law aims to limit the number of bookmaker offices. Accordingly, one office will be allowed in each regional center and in every administrative district of Yerevan. Additionally, the operation of offices is permitted in the cities of Tsakhkadzor, Jermuk, Meghri, and Sevan.

In response to Gabrielian's remark, Babken Tunyan, the chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, stated: “If there were a way to instantly prohibit everything with one stroke, believe me, we would go for that option. But if we abruptly ban the operations of bookmaker outlets without doing anything in the online domain, we create an unfair competition in the market and end up not limiting gambling but monopolizing the market. This draft resolves the issue of cash bets; however, we still face challenges with online betting. Most bets are made online. We should ensure that people do not gamble on foreign sites, as this could result in us neither combating gambling nor providing any benefits. The only harm will be the outflow of money from the country. As long as we do not find a solution in the online domain, it makes sense to allow these locations to adapt to these changes. Later, when more serious alternatives are available for a more radical solution, of course, we will go towards that option. No one is holding our hand,” said Tunyan.

Alen Simonian also noted in his concluding remarks regarding Gabrielian's concerns about the possibility of opening new offices that setting up a new organization incurs significant costs. Licenses cannot be transferred to a subsidiary, and acquiring a new license is also ‘expensive.’ “Regarding the cities, it is planned to completely prohibit the operation of offices by 2022,” said Simonian.

It is worth mentioning that if the draft law is adopted, it will come into force from November 1, 2020.