The areas of the institutions that organize and hold gambling games must not exceed 200 square meter surface area. This is what Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan, who represents the ruling My Step faction, said during a discussion on the bill on making amendments to the Law “On lotteries” held as part of the session of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Assembly today. He also listed other supplements that MPs had previously made to the bill.

This bill is about restrictions on bookmakers and electronic lottery machines and envisages a ban on bookmakers across the country, but only a year-and-a-half later.

The bill defines a bookmaker and its types and bans advertisements of the services of foreign companies and totalizators through a local network in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. The MPs also propose to set 21 as the minimum age limit.

According to the MPs, the operation of such institutions must be banned in the direct vicinity of residential zones, medical centers and cultural centers, as well as in places that are of historical and cultural value.

Based on the government’s calculations, such measures won’t cause essential harm to the state budget, and the bill is aimed at solving the dire socio-economic situation since, according to the MP, citizens of Armenia often put not only themselves, but also their families under threat because of gambling games.

The bill has sparked a lot of reactions among the public.