Latvia gambling regulation, licensing and taxation

Regulated. Local licensing of roulette and other cylindrical games, card games, dice games and games on gaming machines in land-based casinos (Section 21(1), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).

• Sections 20 and 26(1) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries state that a gambling premises licence is issued to a capital company that has the relevant gambling organisation licence to operate a casino.
• Section 21(1) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries states: “A casino is premises for operating gambling, marked in the building's technical inventory plan as a structurally separate isolated space or several interconnected spaces which are specially equipped for operating a gaming machine, roulette (cylindrical games), card and dice games with at least:
• Ten installed gaming tables, if the casino is located in Riga.
• Five installed gaming tables, if the casino is located outside Riga.”
• Section 21(2) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries restricts the installation and operation of gaming tables of roulette (cylindrical games), card and dice games outside a casino.
• Section 21(3) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries states the company that holds the gambling premises licence must own the gaming equipment inside the casino.

Pursuant to Sections 21(1) and 24(1) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries, the following games are permitted in casinos:

• Roulette and other cylindrical games.
• Card games.
• Dice games.
• Games on gaming machines.

• A list of authorised operators is available on the website of the State Revenue Service.
• A register of gambling premises licences is available on the website of the State Revenue Service.

The following two licences are required to organise gambling in land-based casinos in Latvia:

• Gambling organisation licence (Section 10(1), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• Casino premises licence (Section 20, Law on Gambling and Lotteries).

Licensing information

• Applications for the gambling organisation licence and the casino premises licence are being accepted. The number of licences is not limited within the Law on Gambling and Lotteries.
• The licence to organise gambling is issued for an indefinite period of time and it must be re-registered each year with the State Revenue Service (Section 10(2), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• The gambling operator shall re-register the licence to operate gambling each year by the date indicated in the decision to issue the licence (Section 16, Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• The casino premises licence shall be re-registered annually, by the date indicated in the decision to grant the respective casino licence (Section 32(1), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• A person who has an impeccable reputation and who has not been deprived of the right to conduct commercial activity can be a member of the supervisory and management (Section 9(2), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• A person convicted of a criminal offence committed with intention, or that has not been rehabilitated, is not considered to have an impeccable reputation and cannot be a member of the supervisory or management board (Section 9(3), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• A licence will not be issued if the operator has significantly violated any laws or regulations or has debts to the state or local budget (Section 15(1); (2), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• A licence to organise gambling is issued to a capital company registered in the Republic of Latvia, with a minimum paid-up share capital of €1.4m (Section 8(1), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• Section 8(2) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries limits the share of foreign members or stakeholders in the share capital of a capital company to 49 percent. However, this requirement does not apply to investors from the member states of the European Union (EU), the states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (residents) (OECD), and in cases in which different regulations for foreign investments are provided for by international agreements approved by the Latvian parliament.
• Section 9(1) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries mandates that at least half of the members of the council and board of directors must be taxpayers (residents) in the EU, EEA or an OECD member state.
• Pursuant to Sections 42(1) and (3) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries, a local municipality permit is required to open a casino, except for within a four- or five-star hotel. This permit is valid for an indefinite period of time (Sections 26(4) and 42(4), Law on Gambling and Lotteries).
• Section 41(2) of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries details the locations where a casino cannot be located, which includes, among others, state institutions, churches and cultural buildings, medical or educational establishments.
• The manager (administrator) of the casino must be approved by the State Revenue Service (Sections 29-30, Law on Gambling and Lotteries).

Licensing costs

• The one-time fee for the organisation licence for all types of gambling is €427,000 (Section 2, Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fees).
• The annual fee for re-registration of the gambling organisation licence is €45,000 (Section 2, Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fees).
• The fee for both the issue and the annual re-registration of a casino premise licence is €30,000 (Section 2, Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fees).

Detailed information about organising gambling in land-based casinos is available in Chapter IV of the Law on Gambling and Lotteries and on the website of the State Revenue Service..

• Pursuant to Section 3 of the Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fees, the following taxes are applicable for every calendar year on each arranged or installed direct gambling premises:
• €40,440 for each gambling table attached to the rotating device of roulette (cylindrical games).
• €40,440 for each table organising card and dice games.
• €7,440 for each gaming machine.
• Section 5 of the Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fees specifies the manner of monthly payment of the tax for casino operators.

Detailed information regarding gambling tax is available on the Latvian State Revenue Service's website.

• Section 9(1)(5) of the Law on Income Tax states income tax is not applicable to annual gambling winnings amounting to less than €3,000.
• When a player has won amounts exceeding €3,000, which were paid out in one instalment or in total during the entire visit to the place where gambling is organised, then the part of the winnings that lies between €3,000 and the maximum amount of the object of mandatory contributions specified in accordance with the Law on State Social Insurance will be taxed at 25.5 percent. However, a 33 percent tax will be paid on the part of the winnings that exceeds the maximum amount of the object of mandatory contributions specified in accordance with the Law on State Social Insurance (Section 15(24) of the Law on Income Tax).
• Lottery and gambling winnings that exceed €3,000 in a taxation year, calculated by summing up all the visits to gambling establishments, will be included in the yearly total taxable income and the above rates will apply accordingly (Section 15(24), Law on Income Tax.)