On July 1 2014, the gambling regulator in Latvia started blocking international online casinos without a special license. From 2007 to 2015, 11 out of 16 land-based casinos were closed. The reason: authorities didn’t want to issue licenses and upon the expiration of old licenses, casinos were closed.

The worldwide economic crisis also harmed the development of gambling business. From 2009 to 2010, the profit of land-based venues halved. Online and offline gambling in Latvia was going through a rough patch.

A run of good luck for the gambling business in Latvia

Everything has changed during one year and a half. According to the report for 2016 by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of the Republic of Latvia: total profit reached €113 million (increased by 10%), cash cycle grew by 8.5% amounting to €102.2 million.

The dramatic improvement was possible thanks to several segments:

• Profit from videogames increased by 74%;
• From betting – by 17%;
• From slots – by 4%.

Last year, Latvia had 320 gambling halls with approximately 9 000 slots, 18 roulette tables, 55 tables for card games.

Only 6 out of 13 registered operators are active on the Latvian market: Joker, Latvijas Loto, Admiralu Klubs, Alfor, Optibet and Olympic Casino. The last one owns a large venue Olympic Voodoo and 20 gambling clubs.

During 2016, Latvia earned €18 million on online casino, which is four times more than two years ago. There are seven online casinos on the market today. The government issued licenses to 57 betting terminals.

Representatives of the Supervision Inspection believe that rise in earnings of online operators was possible due to the increase in the number of services. Users have no reason to visit illegal venues if they can test new slots, place bets or play their favorite card games on safe platforms.

The promising future of Latvian gambling

The gambling business in Latvia has wonderful prospects. Proof: the famous developer of gaming software Playtech opened a studio of live casino in Riga.

The largest studio of new generation was built in the heart of the Old City. It is equipped with innovative hardware and software, cameras, tables and lots of gambling zones.

The Latvia-based studio will provide the majority of European live casinos with services giving gamblers access to the best gambling content any time, any place.