Armenia Intends to Impose Additional Taxes on Bookmakers and Sweepstakes

YEREVAN, Armenia (December 9, 2022) — Armenia’s parliament has passed today in the first reading a set of amendments to the law On State Duty, which envisage an increase in the state duty, established for bookmakers, sweepstakes and online games with winnings.

According to the ARKA News Agency the Deputy Minister of Finance Arman Poghosyan says, the problem is that although these companies have been paying tax on profit since 2021, the need for new regulations has arisen, as the sector’s turnover has grown dramatically since 2017- from 140 billion drams to 4.2 trillion drams in the first 9 months of this year.

The amendments call for revising the licenses provided to these companies and introducing a quota system.

In particular, a company organizing Internet gambling with the winnings will have to buy from the state the right to accept bets worth 100 billion drams and pay 175 million drams in duty for every 100 billion.

The system for sweepstakes is different – for the right to accept bets of 50 million drams, they will have to pay additionally 5 million drams.

ARKA News Agency reports the proposed changes are expected to generate additional revenues of 10 billion drams annually, except for 2023, as the law is to enter into force on July 1.

SOURCE: ARKA News Agency.