VIDEO: 'The Armenian Government Does Not Strictly Prohibit Gambling to Avoid Black Market Formation,' Deputy Minister

Gambling no longer has a significant impact on Armenia's economic growth, as it did in the past. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Avag Avanesyan, during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs.

“In 2016, when GDP grew by only 0.2%, if it weren’t for the gambling sector, we would have been in a recession. This indicates that the importance and growth of this sector have always been much higher compared to others. If we look at the last months of 2023, the overall services sector grew by 14%, while the gambling sector grew only by 7%. This means there is growth, but it is not the kind of growth that the primary driving sector of the economy itself represents,” noted the Deputy Minister.

During the committee meeting, discussions were held on the proposed amendments to the laws on “Gambling, Internet Gambling, and Casinos” and “Lotteries,” which are set to be adopted in the second reading.

According to Avanesyan, different sectors have begun to impact the Armenian economy significantly, especially in recent years. For example, housing services grew by 30%, information services by 51%, transportation by 30%, administrative support services, which do not usually grow that quickly, also increased by 7%, and education by 10%, among others.

“When we compare, we understand that the gambling sector is no longer one of the rapidly growing sectors; indeed, global trends continue to average 10-15% growth. Moreover, many changes could occur by the end of the year; we cannot predict outcomes because this sector might experience unexpected growth, but we believe that the trend is gradually beginning to slow down. This may be a temporary phenomenon,” Avanesyan pointed out.

He emphasized that the ministry's policy aims to keep the sector transparent and reduce social damages rather than prohibit it entirely. “We agree that the only way to prevent a gambler from gambling is to impose a ban, but that would lead them to play with criminals, going underground and forming a black market. As a result, social layers operating outside the law or not adhering to common regulations start to gain wealth and their influence on society grows. This must be avoided at all costs,” the Deputy Minister stressed.

Therefore, according to him, the Armenian Ministry of Finance is trying to tighten overall regulations but not in a manner that would cause people to quickly shift to the black market or start gambling on foreign websites that are not licensed in Armenia, as Armenian citizens are not protected from the actions occurring there.