At the end of March, the financial and administrative committee of the Riga City Council sent a draft of new mandatory rules for land-based casinos in the Latvian capital for the deputies’ consideration. Previously, authorities only allowed gambling in Riga hotels. Presently, authorities plan to designate locations where they will strictly prohibit gambling. The project was developed based on the recommendations of the Constitutional Court of Latvia, taking into account the results of public consultations held in February this year.
Riga Mayor, Vilnis Kirsis, is confident that the city without gambling will become safer. The new regulation specifies the places where residents constantly and intensively traffic and where the municipality believes it should prohibit such entertainment. At the same time, the remaining permitted establishments must make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.
Places where gambling will be prohibited in Riga
The draft of the new rules restricts the organisation of gambling on the territory of:
- immovable property owned by the municipality;
- district centres;
- educational institutions within a radius of 300 metres;
- railway stations, bus stations, and airports within a radius of 500 metres;
- public transport stops within a radius of 300 metres;
- individual residential buildings, low-rise and high-rise residential buildings specified in the Riga Territorial Plan within a radius of 300 metres;
- cultural monuments and their protection zones.
The restrictions stipulated in the draft resolution do not apply to the entire municipality’s territory or to operators’ rights to open and expand gambling establishments in four—and five-star hotels in Riga.
In addition, the draft ordinance provides for reducing the visibility of gambling establishments in the urban environment. Subsequently making gambling less attractive to residents. The Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia is given the authority to establish uniform requirements for the design of gambling establishments.
Does the benefit outweigh the harm?
In its statement, the Riga City Council emphasises that these innovations reduce the risk of gambling addiction and contribute to the protection of the social budget and cultural heritage: ‘The benefit that society receives from the restrictions introduced exceeds the harm caused to the rights and legitimate interests of gambling operators.’
The executive director of the Latvian Association of Licensed Gambling (LIAB), Līga Līce, expressed her agreement with this provision. In a statement to the LETA agency, Līce notes that the reduction in the number of gambling halls in Latvia and the upcoming amendments to the gambling law will make the presence of these establishments as invisible as possible. Eliminating the impact on people who do not use iGaming services.
According to the association, over the last 20 years, the number of gambling halls in Latvia has decreased by about 70 percent, and the number of casinos has been reduced to two establishments in Riga. The association explains the reduction in the number of land-based establishments by the development of online gambling. After the pandemic, this trend clearly manifested as many services, including entertainment, became available only remotely. In particular, Latvian online operators, whose activities the government banned during this period, sought compensation for damages through the courts. Līce also recalls the self-regulation of the gambling industry due to changing consumer habits, demographics, economic situations and other factors.
Smooth transition to new rules
Riga municipality has planned a relatively comfortable transition period for the application of the new restrictions: 5 years from the date of the decision on cancellation of the previously issued permits. That is, the line of validity of permits to organise gambling on the territories from the list of restricted will expire in 2030.
The Riga City Council bases its loyalty on its experience with previous attempts to combat gambling addiction. In 2019, the municipality decided to close 42 gambling halls in the historical centre of Riga and its protected area. Their owners filed lawsuits against the city in the Constitutional Court. The restriction on the establishment of gambling halls in this area was recognised as complying with the Basic Law but with certain conditions.
Compliance with the Constitutional Court ruling
The Riga municipality continued its fight against the gambling business by providing for the closure of gambling halls throughout the city in the territorial planning of 2021. Latvia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development suspended the implementation of this plan until autumn 2023. Thus postponing the closure of gambling establishments.
After the pause, the Riga City Council decided to cancel 139 permits for gambling establishments outside the centre, and the operators again appealed to the Constitutional Court. This time, the restriction was recognised as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court obliged the local government to designate the characteristics of territories that make them unsuitable for organising gambling.
The new draft of the mandatory rules for organising gambling in Riga is a response to the court ruling.
This article was first published in Russian on 7 April 2025.
