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It is proposed with the legislative initiative to increase the tax burden of the gambling sphere (online gambling games and totalizers, internet totalizer). The organization of the online gambling games and lotteries under current legislation is considered a kind of activity subject to licensing, for the implementation of which state duty amounting annually to 600mln AMD is set. Besides, the activity of the online gambling games has been taxed from January 1, 2021, and the activity of the totalizer and the internet totalizer – from January 1, 2020 by profit tax. The RA Deputy Minister of Finance Arman Poghosyan said about this at December 9 RA NA extraordinary sitting during the debate of the package of the draft laws on making Addendum and Amendment to the law on State Duty and the enclosed ones.

“The problem is that our observations show that even taking into consideration these amendments, the current regulations of taxation of the new result being created in the sphere are not adequate, and accordingly, additional intervention is necessary,” Arman Poghosyan detailed.

According to statistics, from 2017 the volumes of the sphere have essentially increased. The executive body proposes to envisage also state duty from the state duty envisaged for the current licensing with the expectation of changing the statistics and collecting additional tax incomes for the state budget for getting right to accepting bets.

Arman Poghosyan noted that the international experience of taxation of the activity for the organization of the gambling games and bets was studied: assessing the administrative capacities and the introduced systems by the organizers, a practical balanced solution was chosen.

The MPs Khachatur Sukiasyan, Hovik Aghazaryan, Sisak Gabrielyan, Lilit Stepanyan with their questions expressed concern related to the presented statistical data, considering it a serious problem and challenge of the social significance.

Tsovinar Vardanyan welcomed the initiative presented by the executive body, by which more restrictions will be set for the organizations accepting bets.

On December 9, at the extraordinary sitting the parliament passed the draft law in the first reading.