The Armenian Parliament has finally approved legislative amendments on online casinos. The new rules are expected to take effect on January 1, 2027, and will affect licensed online casinos, players, and vulnerable groups of the population.
The main change is the mandatory self-exclusion system. Licensed operators will have to add a visible self-restriction button to their websites and mobile apps. If a player activates this function, they will receive a full ban on gambling in all online casinos for 5 years.
It will not be possible to lift such a ban early. Moreover, after the first five-year period ends, the restriction will automatically be extended for another 5 years if the player does not submit an official request to remove the block in advance. This must be done at least 5 days before the end of the initial term.
Self-exclusion will not apply within one specific casino, but across the entire market. That is, after receiving a blocking notice, operators will be required to restrict the player’s access to their services.
A separate part of the amendments concerns vulnerable groups. Online gambling will be banned for recipients of state social benefits, people whose main income is a pension, bankrupt individuals, and participants in state support programs. In this way, the authorities want to reduce financial harm for people who are most at risk of suffering from gambling losses.
For other players, a personal limit is being introduced: a player will not be able to spend more than 20% of their officially declared annual income on online gambling. How this will be checked and controlled, and what sanctions operators will face for violations, have not yet been disclosed.
The reform is linked to the sharp growth of online gambling in the country. According to MP Hayk Sargsyan, the volume of online bets in Armenia increased from 200 billion drams, about $542.6 million, in 2017 to 7.4 trillion drams, about $20 billion, in 2025. This is more than 35-fold growth over eight years.
Before the new rules are launched, the authorities must also determine the national gambling operator. This process is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
