Latvian revenues from the gambling market fell by 26%

According to the Latvian Ministry of Finance, in the first half of 2021 the state treasury received 26% less money from the local gambling industry than in the previous period. It is noted that for the six months ended June 30, from representatives of the Latvian gambling industry was collected a total of 7 million euros. This is about €16 million less than the plan.

At present, 17 operators are officially licensed on the territory of Latvia. They have the right to organize and conduct gambling. Ten of them are casinos and slot-machine halls. According to statistics, this sector employs almost 3,000 workers, who have been greatly affected by the ongoing pandemic COVID-19.

“If you look at the results of the past six months, we can clearly see that the most popular online casinos and other gambling market participants have been working a total of 16 days,” said Signe Byrne, executive director of the Lottery and Gaming Monitoring Inspectorate.

“This affects the overall results. Unlike last year, when interactive games were unavailable for about two months, this year the market worked without interruption. The reports also show that it was online entertainment that provided the lion’s share of the industry’s total revenue for the six-month period,” the functionary added.

Thus, according to Janis Tregers, a member of the Latvian Interactive Gambling Society and chairman of the board of the local operator, the demand for online gambling site services increased by only 5% during the reporting period.

“Such a trend is increasing. If we compare today’s statistics with the last quarter before the pandemic, the total demand in Latvia’s gambling market has decreased by two-thirds. This is very important. Those who used to gamble, can not afford it now for various reasons. The drop can be called significant,” said Tragers.

Recall, Evolution announced a deal with casino platform provider Soft2Bet.