Gambling in Latvia: An Ongoing Success Story

Posted: January 8, 2010

Updated: October 4, 2017

Gambling in Europe is overall a popular activity. Within some nations it’s much more popular than others. Laws also differ greatly between nations. One of the most successfully blooming nations in Europe, in regards to gambling, is Latvia.

Gambling in Europe is overall a popular activity. Within some nations it’s much more popular than others. Laws also differ greatly between nations. One of the most successfully blooming nations in Europe, in regards to gambling, is Latvia.

Many wouldn’t guess that this is the case, but the small nation has a quite a good run when it comes to Latvian gambling laws. This is a result of relatively recent activities and was by no means the case for a good part of the last century.

In the 50’s, horseracing was a very popular activity, but that all came to an end when the sports main venue, the Hippodrome in Riga, burnt to the ground. The sport was soon after prohibited by law, and only made a comeback in the early nineties when the nation regained its independence. In 1991, the first casino was built in the country. Now they have 50!

Internet gambling in Latvia was introduced in 2003. The government does very well on behalf of internet gambling due to a 10% tax on all online casinos in Latvia. The industry got a huge boost when Playtech chose Riga as the host city for its new Live Dealer games on the European Market.

If the gambling market continues to blossom in such a manner in Latvia, the country will be doing very well and could be a contender against much larger nations for hosting. The 10% tax on these sites means a great revenue stream for the government, and laws are unlikely to change anytime soon.

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