YEREVAN. – Centralization of the gaming hall business in Armenia has adversely affected the country’s state budget; the taxes paid by casinos have reduced, reported Haykakan Zhamanak daily. 

“This is noteworthy by the fact that a new procedure went into operation in Armenia since January 1, 2014, according to which these gaming halls could be built solely in a few cities [in the country]: Jermuk, Sevan, Tsaghkadzor, and Meghri. The exceptions were those gaming halls the investments made for whose construction exceed 100 million [US] dollars. 

“There is only one such 100-million-dollar casino in Armenia—the Pharaon belonging to [opposition Prosperous Armenia Party ex-Chairman, MP, and oligarch] Gagik Tsarukyan. (…). And since this casino is located very close to [capital city] Yerevan, it ‘soaks up’ the clients of the gaming halls located in the abovementioned cities. As a result, the other casinos are in danger of shutting down,” wrote Haykakan Zhamanak.