Latvia suspends gambling in several forms due to Covid-19 outbreak

Latvia’s online gambling market has been plunged into disarray after the country’s government suspended the licences of all gambling operators in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

In emergency laws passed by the Latvian parliament (Saeima) on Friday, the government outlawed all forms of physical gambling, but stopped short of banning online gambling, numerical lotteries and instant win games.

However, the government has also directed the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Authority to suspend all gambling licences, including those issued to land-based and online operators.

A total of nine operators are currently licensed to operate online gambling in Latvia, including Paf, Mr Green, LV Bet and Betsson’s Betsafe brand. At present all sites are currently still in operation, however it is unclear if they will be forced to close due to the licence suspensions in the near future.

Speaking to EGR, Paf said it had not chosen to shut down its Latvia-facing online site as it was still waiting for the regulator to provide instructions on how to proceed following the introduction of the new laws.

“We will as an example need to give customers the chance to transfer money from their gaming accounts before we shut down the gaming service. So when we get those instructions, we will most likely have two days to act accordingly,” a spokesperson Paf explained.

“This is of course an unfortunate situation for our Latvian customers and a very drastic decision. We can now only aim to come back as a stronger company in Latvia when the lockdown is over,” Paf added.

Latvia’s online gambling market generated €54.6m gross gaming revenue during 2019, with online casino and sports betting sites accounting for the lion’s share of the figures.

Latvian gambling firms employ 3,746 people, while both land-based and online firms paid just over €72m in taxes to the Latvian government during 2019.

Playtech has confirmed its Latvian live casino operation based in Riga is unaffected by the suspensions, while fellow supplier Evolution Gaming has said its Latvian operations are similarly running business as usual.

Both can continue streaming for global partners outside of Latvia.

However, Evolution Gaming has closed its neighbouring Georgian Tbilisi live studio following advice from the Georgian government.

The temporary closure will see a significant reduction in the firm’s Georgian workforce, with studios in the firm’s eight other operational areas picking up the slack.

Evolution Gaming said it remains in close contact with local authorities with the aim of reopening the studio at the earliest opportunity.

“The situation is developing, and Evolution will adapt continuously,” the firm said.

“We have also taken a number of preventive actions to protect the wellbeing of our employees and facilitate adherence to the guidelines from global health organisations, including changing procedures to meet social distancing recommendations,” a spokesperson for Evolution Gaming added.