Gambling plays a very important role in the life of Latvia. As with any other business area, it is necessary to provide guarantees to its clients and investors, and in addition to legalize the operation of your gaming club. Fortunately, the Latvian authorities are willing to issue casino licenses, with the condition the operator meets their strict requirements.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and a number of other countries that were previously part of the USSR, there is a strict restriction on gambling business, and you can open casinos in specially designated regions. But Latvia has taken a different road, and welcomes every modern licensed online casino. Of course, in order to legalize a business, you need to pass a control and get a state license. And not only residents of the state can do it, but also foreign citizens.

What are the advantages of Latvia?

• the operator gets the licence for an unlimited period of time (usually, most jurisdictions are granted the state licenses for 1-3 years);
• the Latvia citizens can play in casinos and bookmakers only from the age of 21;
• the regulatory body is quickly checking all the requests (1-3 months).

The licence on bambling activities in the country

Latvian authorities are granted several licence kinds, in particular there are presented the following subcategories at the moment:

• The licence on land-based casinos. Besides getting the licence, the operator must certify the premises, meet quite high demands about the heaping of gambling hall and location of the institution.
• If you want to base a licensed casino in the country, you have to describe in detail the software work and varieties of installed games, and to ensure security of the user’s information and funds.
• The licence on bamblinig activities. The average time of getting the state licence for a bookmaker is no more than 4 months as well. There is the possibility to place bets on sport events, personal disputes and any events that are interesting for the players.

Licensed casino: the requirements to the operator

• The software that is installed on the gambling club portal, must complete the certification. The same requirements are set for the arcade machine that is installed in the land-based institution.
• Minimum one company`s manager must be the resident of the EU. In addition, a minimum of half of the committee of directors must be the EU residents.
• All the managers of the company must have a solid reputation (if there will be found a criminal record at anyone – immediately there will be a denial).
• There are not any requirements to the amount of further capital, but there is an item in the contract according to which the operator must have enough funds to run a gambling business. But there is no mention about the specific amount of it. Experience has shown that it is not enough to have 1.5 millions euro.

What documents are necessary for an authorization request for getting the licence:

• The passport copies of all managers of the committee of directors, investors, shareholders, etc.
• Full financial statements for the last year (in the case the operator own casinos in other jurisdictions);
• Approvement of the legality of the origin of the operator`s and all investors` funds;
• The copies of the certificats of the soft installed on the casino website, and the equipment on which is set the licensed software.

The licensed online casino in Latvia: the licensing process and the period of time of the licence availability

Do not matter what gambling business is opening: online casino, a land-based bambling club or bookmaker, in Latvia all gambling companies are grated with the licensed in the same way:

• It is necessary to submit an application to the supervision body (Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection).
• Pay the custom (427000 euro).

Except this custom, rarely it is necessary to pay for additional permissions.

The cost of the licence is quite reasonable. Of course, there are jurisdictions where it is much lower, but there all the attractions are in the period of validity of licence. In fact, your institution gets the unlimited licence, but the owner of the casino or bookmaker must annually pass the procedure of re-registration. But it is not necessary to pay the custom anymore.

What are the limitations that do not allow to legalize the gambling business in Latvia

• After submitting the application, the supervision body begins to study the provided documents. The main moment is the nationality of operator`s managers. According to the local legislation, minimum of half of the managers must have the citizenship of the European Union. This is the key point.
• Also the extreme attention is given to the equipment which the operator uses. Experience has proven that in the case the regulator will not like something, it will entail additional cash disbursement. It is also important to mention that it is better to place online casino servers on the territory of the country, in an extreme case – in a state that is a part of the EU.
• Respective innovation: if you are going to open a land-based gambling club or bookmaker, it is not possible to do in the historic area of Riga. In 2017 the authorities forbade replacing these kinds of institutions in the historic district of the city. An exception is replacing it in major hotels (minimum 4 stars).   
• Even if the leadership of the state is supporting the gambling business, the operators must assess the risks, when taping into a new market.