Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia Licensed Online Casinos and information on Latvia Regulatory Body

Overview

In Latvia, only games of chance are legal according to the main gambling legislation which is the Gambling and Lotteries Law. This gambling legislation which legalized games of chance has been around since 2005 and this is also the time when the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia was appointed as the main gambling regulatory body, while the authority was formed in 1998. 

Following the introduction of the Gambling and Lotteries Law, Latvia embraced a completely new gambling licensing and regulatory regime for both online and land-based gambling operators. As for online gambling activities, online casino gaming and online sports betting have been legal in the country since 2006. For a company to offer gambling services, it requires a license issued by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia. 

Unlicensed gambling operators’ sites are commonly blocked by Latvian Internet service providers with the use of DPI, DNS filters, and firewalls. According to the latest reports on this matter, unlicensed companies that operate in Latvia without a valid license can get financial penalties. This is where the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia once again comes into the picture. Besides being tasked with issuing licenses, the regulatory authority is also tasked with combating illicit gambling activities and unlawful gambling operators. 

Land-based gambling operators need to invest €427,000 to obtain a gambling license when applying for the very first time. However, the cost is lower set at €200,000 for gambling operators that want to offer online gambling services in Latvia. The cost of getting gambling licenses issued by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection is around €37,000.

Latvia has also a strict tax system in place and the exact tax rate associated with licensed gambling operators depends on the type of gambling activities they offer. Sports betting operators invest 10% of their monthly income in taxes. The same tax rate applies to all forms of lotteries and bingo. The tax rate is set at 15% on other gambling activities while casinos and facilities offering gambling machines pay €28,080 in taxes annually.