The age limit of 21 years will apply to persons present at the place of gambling organization, but those persons who are the service personnel of the place of gambling or other service providers related to the provision of the service of the place of gambling and who have reached the age of 18 will not be counted here. Such persons have the right to be at the place where gambling is organized even if they have not reached the age of 21.
Persons under the age of 21 who have previously registered to participate in gambling will be prohibited from participating in gambling in the future. Taking into account the above, the draft law provides for a reasonable transitional period, during which the gambling organizer and the player would be able to settle their mutual obligations.
Also, the draft law supported by the government provides for the establishment of an age threshold for persons to participate in lotteries, specifying that persons from the age of 18 are allowed to participate in lotteries, including receiving lottery winnings.
The aforementioned foresees the need to establish a new requirement before the sale of lottery tickets, for the employee of the lottery ticket sales point to make sure of the person’s age and to require the person to present an identity document.
Also, persons who have reached the age of 18 will be allowed to receive the lottery winnings. Before receiving the prize, the issuer of the prize is obliged to make sure of the person’s age and to request that the person presents an identity document.
The Minister of the Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis (JV), brought up the issue of young people at the government meeting, stating that he is concerned about the fact that young people play gambling, but find financing from quick loans. “To a certain extent, we lose these young people because they leave Latvia,” said Kozlovskis.
The draft law provides for the registration of visitors to gambling establishments with the aim of determining the identity of all visitors to gambling establishments in order to prevent visits by persons who have not reached the age of 21, to prevent the legalization of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism and proliferation.
Also, the bill introduces a new term “personalized smart card”, defining it as a card or other technological solution, such as a smartphone app, the functionality of which provides identification of the player and also provides information that would allow identification of a person’s risk for excessive gambling tendencies.
The draft law obliges visitors to gambling establishments to register each time they visit a gambling establishment, presenting an identity document and a personalized smart card, which is issued for the first time at the time of registration. The gambling operator is obliged to ensure that the player cannot start the game without the personalized smart card and to monitor that the player uses it when playing the game of slot machines, roulette, card games, dice games, betting and sweepstakes.
The personalized smart card provides information on the identifying data of each specific player, the time spent in the game, the funds deposited, as well as the obtained winnings, which allows to identify a person’s risk for an excessive tendency to play gambling.
The law changes the requirements for the minimum number of gambling machines in an establishment. Currently, the law stipulates that a gaming hall is a gambling venue where at least 20 gambling machines are installed and operated. The bill envisages increasing the minimum number of gaming machines in gaming halls from 20 to 25 units.
According to the data provided by the Latvian Gaming Business Association (LSBA), the preliminary increase in the minimum number of gaming machines to 25 units would affect 129 gaming halls, where a total of approximately 548 gaming machines would be installed. Also, it would be necessary to close 29 gaming halls where it is not possible to increase the number of relevant machines and 454 gaming machines would no longer be used. Accordingly, according to the information provided by the LSBA, the employment of approximately 236 employees would be terminated as a result of the increase in the number of slot machines.
By closing 29 gaming halls, the revenue from the state fee for gambling venue licenses may decrease by 130,500 euros per year. At the same time, assuming that an additional 94 gaming machines will be added, the gambling tax revenue may increase by 486,168 euros per year, the FM states in the annotation of the bill.
According to the data provided by the LSBA, one gaming hall employs an average of eight employees, and the average salary of one employee reaches 1195.66 euros per month. Labor taxes per employee with the relevant salary are 575.14 euros. The closing of one hall under such assumptions has a negative impact on labor tax revenues in the amount of 4,601.12 euros, without taking into account severance pay, unemployment benefit, remuneration provided by the alternative workplace and other payments.
The amendments to the law are intended to impose an obligation on the gambling organizer to ensure that the premises where the catering service or food circulation is provided are separated from each other from the premises where the gaming machines, card, dice and roulette tables or other gambling equipment are located.
The draft law envisages setting a limit on the working hours of gambling from 6 to 9 a.m., during which it is prohibited to organize interactive gambling, except for totalizators and places accepting bets.
The bill also provides for a ban on organizing interactive gambling for more than 21 hours in one continuous session or in several separate sessions totaling a 24-hour period.
It is also planned to introduce restrictions on smoking and alcohol consumption in gaming halls and casinos. The draft law provides for the prohibition of smoking in casinos and gaming halls, except in rooms specially designated for smoking and equipped with exhaust ventilation, ensuring that the air outflow in the room is not less than 8.4 liters per second per square meter.
Also, the draft law provides for the prohibition of offering alcoholic beverages free of charge at the place where gambling is organized.
The draft law provides that a natural person can request that he be banned from playing gambling games, interactive gambling games or interactive lotteries in other European Union (EU) member states with which Latvia has concluded an international agreement on the exchange of information with the registers of the respective countries, and that he be included in the register in accordance with the provisions of the relevant international agreement. The ban applies to games of chance, interactive games of chance or interactive raffles permitted in the respective Member State.
The draft law envisages canceling the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspectorate (IAUI) function of approving the rules of gambling, interactive gambling and interactive lotteries, thus ensuring the digitization of the submission process in the existing unified lottery and gambling monitoring information system for gambling organizers, where already provided various types of information, while maintaining the necessity of the rules of gambling, interactive gambling and interactive raffles in the law and the information contained in them, but leaving the preparation of the rules entirely under the responsibility of the organizer of gambling interactive gambling games and interactive raffles.
IAUI will continue to maintain the control and monitoring function. Administrative costs of IAUI from the point of view of supervision, daily operation and control will not decrease, while gambling organizers will submit/register gambling rules and obtain confirmation of the legality of their use immediately instead of waiting 30 days. FM indicates that there will be no additional costs for those who organize gambling games.
Also, the draft law envisages improving the unified lottery and gambling monitoring information system, including data from interactive gambling games, gambling machines (casino tables) and totalizator or bet betting sites, stipulating that the machines may be operated in the mentioned places only if the data is automatically transferred to the unified for lottery and gambling monitoring information system, providing online data exchange with IAUI.
On the other hand, the organization of interactive gambling is permitted after the data from the system of organizing interactive gambling are transferred to the unified lottery and gambling monitoring information system, using the application interface, ensuring online data exchange with the IAUI.
The draft law stipulates throughout the law that the gambling organizer must ensure the storage of the video recording for at least 30 days, counting from the day the video recording was made.
The draft law supported by the government also stipulates the delegation in the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers to set uniform requirements for the design of the public outdoor space (including the design of the windows) of the place where gambling is organized, which would thus prevent the excessively attractive appearance of the design of the facades and signboards of gambling halls, as well as promote the uniform application of legal norms, setting uniform criteria for gambling organization locations throughout the territory of Latvia.
With the amendments, the types of payments available to players will also be expanded, thus the draft law intends to include payment institutions licensed in Latvia and electronic money institutions licensed in Latvia, replacing the words “registered credit institution” in the law with the words “licensed credit institution, payment institution or electronic money institution”, which will reduce motivation for players play at unlicensed interactive gambling operators.
In addition, it is expected that the IAUI will issue guidelines on the settlement procedures of interactive gambling and interactive lottery organizers with players.
In order to prevent gambling by persons who are suspected to be at risk of developing gambling addictions, the bill provides that the gambling organizer needs to establish a risk monitoring and control system, the purpose of which is to protect players from the risk of developing gambling addictions.
As part of the risk monitoring and control system, the gambling organizer is expected to monitor the habits of gambling players, which are related to or may indicate that a person has or may develop a gambling addiction. For the purpose of habit monitoring, the gambling organizer will process the player’s identification data, information about the player’s bank account number, information about the player’s self-determined bet limits and the actions performed in the player’s game account.
The gambling organizer, based on the data obtained as a result of monitoring the gambling habits of the players, will be obliged to limit the further participation of the player in gambling whose gambling habits may affect and increase the risk of the player becoming addicted to gambling by applying appropriate restrictive measures.
The measures taken by the gambling organizer, based on the risk assessment of a player exposed to risky gambling, will be determined by developing appropriate regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The FM proposes a number of other amendments to the law, emphasizing that the bill envisages improving public protection, reducing illegal and unlicensed gambling and lotteries, as well as improving the supervision of the industry. The draft law will promote the protection of public interests and the rights of individuals, reducing the risks associated with gambling and lotteries, ensuring a controlled, transparent, legal, socially responsible and non-addiction risk-free environment for the organization of gambling and lotteries.
When creating the policy of the gambling and lotteries industry, it is necessary to ensure a balance between the organization of gambling and lotteries as a way of spending free time and public interests, including the protection of the rights of individuals, including preventing the possible emergence of addiction to gambling and lotteries, as well as reducing public health risks and social risks, stresses in the ministry.
2024-08-14 22:24:55