Today, on August 6, the government approved a proposal to appoint an operator for gambling activity regulation.
According to part 1 of Article 23 of the Law on Regulation of Gambling Activities, an operator is a legal entity whose founder, participant, shareholder, or stakeholder has been selected by the inter-agency competition commission through a competitive process, has established a separate commercial organization, and that organization has been designated as the operator by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
The Law on Regulation of Gambling Activities defines the functions of the gambling regulation operator. There are 24 functions, including issuing, extending, and suspending operational licenses, monitoring the gambling market, and more.
For the competition announced by the State Revenue Committee to select an operator, applications were submitted by the Maltese company “Random Systems International LIMITED,” the French simplified joint-stock company “Sharp Vision,” and a consortium of Maltese and Russian companies “Stable Software Solutions,” “RB,” and “Ainus.”
The winner of the competition was recognized as “Random Systems International LIMITED.” The total score of the company’s technical and financial proposals was 73.025 points.
During the government meeting, the issue was reported by the acting chairman of the SRC, Eduard Hakobyan, who stated that this company has relevant experience and also performs similar functions in Georgia as the gambling regulation operator:
“I would like to note that our goal with this private partner is to create a modern, digitized, and efficient regulatory mechanism and control tools, particularly in three directions: first, to ensure real-time monitoring of bets; second, to establish and apply restrictions on participation in games for vulnerable groups of citizens, public servants, municipal servants, and several other groups, as well as to apply these restrictions in the digital environment and establish fair and responsible gaming rules,” Hakobyan said.
“What will happen in the gambling sector, the entire system will operate through a platform, meaning placing bets, receiving winnings, and so on. First, we will eliminate shadow activities; second, when we impose restrictions on people who cannot place bets, we will apply these restrictions as they are established, but in many cases, we cannot apply this tool due to the lack of the necessary means. Third, we will have the opportunity to obtain certain tax tools. Overall, we will make the sector more transparent,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, adding that serious steps have been taken to reduce shadow economy and that they have reached the final stage.
The Prime Minister noted that by January 1, 2027, we will have a new system that will solve this long-standing problem.
The project also stipulates that the chairman of the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia is tasked with ensuring the signing of a contract with the operator.
After winning the competition, “Random Systems International LIMITED” established a company in Armenia called “Game Analysis and Monitoring System.” It was registered on July 15. The director of the company is Marco Pace.
The owners of “Random Systems International LIMITED” are two companies: “Savoir Consulting” and “Argentum Holding Limited.” The director is Marc Galea.
“Savoir Consulting” is registered in Bulgaria, in the city of Varna. The actual beneficiary of the company is Georgian citizen Giorgi Chelidze. The company “Argentum Holding Limited” is registered in Malta. The sole owner and director is Marc Galea.
