The Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, Rafael Gevorgyan, presented proposed amendments to the law on regulating gambling activities and related laws, as well as to the law on making amendments and additions to the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia in the National Assembly:
New regulations proposed in online gambling
Proposed amendments to the law on regulating gambling activities and related laws aim to strengthen control in the online gambling sector and enhance the effectiveness of existing regulations. In recent years, the market for gambling services has significantly shifted to the online environment, resulting in the availability of gambling services offered by unlicensed operators in the Republic of Armenia. These operate outside of Armenia's legal framework but are accessible to local users via the internet.
Despite existing regulations providing for licensing, advertising restrictions, and control mechanisms, they do not ensure full applicability in the online environment. Specifically, there are insufficient effective tools to restrict access to unlicensed websites, prevent their advertising, and control financial flows.
The draft also proposes several changes aimed at addressing existing regulatory gaps and enhancing the effectiveness of state control. In particular, it is proposed to improve the mechanism for blocking unlicensed websites, restrict their advertising, strengthen control over financial flows, and ensure access restrictions to such websites through telecommunications operators, as well as limit transactions for receiving and transferring funds for the purpose of organizing gambling activities by commercial banks and payment organizations.
The changes aim to protect the licensed gambling market, create equal competitive conditions, and implement state control more effectively in the online environment.
Automated exchange of information on financial accounts
The amendments to the law on making changes and additions to the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia are aimed at improving the automated exchange system for information on financial accounts and aligning it with international standards and best practices of the OECD.
Key concepts and procedures used in the automated exchange of information on financial accounts are clarified. The tax authorities will now oversee compliance with the standard requirements by financial institutions, considering that the collection and exchange of information is conducted exclusively for tax purposes.
Responsibility will also be established for cases where individuals provide false, incomplete, or outdated information to financial institutions or fail to provide the required data by law. The law also revises the deadline for reporting by accountable financial institutions to tax authorities, changing it from May 10 to June 30.
The accepted changes will contribute to a more effective and uniform implementation of the automated exchange of information system, proper fulfillment of international obligations, and increased efficiency of tax administration.
