Latvia to vote on enhanced gambling restrictions

Latvia will press ahead with plans to tighten gambling rules, setting up a parliamentary vote on the enhancement of player protections and new compliance orders on gambling licences. The Saeima’s Budget and Finance Committee backed amendments to the Gambling and Lotteries Law following a deliberation on Wednesday 21 October. Reforms and compliance enhancements have been attached to the agenda of the pending 15th Saeima to review the package measures, with no implementation date confirmed. The proposals would raise the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21 and restrict retail lottery purchases to adults (+21). Gambling premises would face a mandatory shutdown between 6am-9am. New rules would see online consumers “restricted to 21 hours of gambling within any 24-hour period”, tracked via continuous play across all online gambling licences. Latvia will aim to apply a ‘common verification standard’ for online gambling customers. The change will force operators to integrate a central system to identify and manage addiction risks, supported by personalised smartcards or equivalent technology. Further measures would extend visitor registration beyond casinos, increase the minimum number of machines in gaming halls from 20 to 25, and introduce uniform rules for premises’ façades and signage. The package comes after Latvia combined gambling regulation and tax supervision under a single authority earlier this year. As SBC News reported in April, the Lottery and Gambling Supervision Inspectorate was absorbed into the State Revenue Service (SRS), ending its role as a standalone regulator. The SRS established separate divisions for licensing and compliance, and for remote and on-site inspections. The Finance Ministry argued that bringing the functions together would reduce duplication and improve oversight as online gambling accounts for a growing share of the market. Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens announced the restructuring in September 2025 alongside plans for higher gambling duties from January 2026. SBC News’ coverage of the package detailed an increase in interactive gambling tax from 12% per cent to 15%, with betting and wagering duties rising from 15% to 18%. Annual machine duties were set to climb from €6,204 to €7,440, while duties on roulette, card and dice tables would increase from €33,696 to €40,440. The latest restrictions face resistance from businesses concerned about their impact on the licensed market. Latvia’s licensed gambling association estimates that the higher machine minimum could force around 30 gaming halls to close, put 240 jobs at risk and reduce annual gambling tax receipts by €4.46m. It also warns that tighter controls could push customers towards illegal offshore platforms. The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for changes, backing individual risk monitoring but opposing the higher machine minimum, online time restriction and additional data requirements. Committee chair Aiva Vīksna acknowledged that the proposals need updating to reflect current market conditions. The incoming parliament must now decide whether to carry the bill forward and how to balance stronger player protections with concerns over illegal gambling.