Is online gambling legal in Armenia?
Armenia has a licence-based market for resort casinos, internet games of chance, bookmaking and lotteries. The Law on Regulation of Gaming Activities, in force since 1 January 2025, moved policy to the Ministry of Economy, made the State Revenue Committee the supervisor, required .am domains and a central monitoring connection, and introduced geo-blocking and payment blocking of foreign sites. Licences are indefinite but expensive: AMD 600 million a year for online games, bookmaking or lotteries, a duty on accepted bets whose multiplier reaches 5.0 in 2028, and a bank deposit of about AMD 1.2 billion. Advertising is tightly limited, mandatory online self-exclusion arrived in April 2026, and amendments taking effect on 8 February 2027 add ISP blocking, bank rejection of gambling-coded payments to unlicensed operators and pre-approval of promotional material.
| Vertical | Status in Armenia |
|---|---|
| Online casino | Regulated |
| Sports betting | Regulated |
| Online poker | Regulated |
| Lottery | Regulated |
| Social casino (free to play) | Unclear |
Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.
Who regulates gambling in Armenia?
- Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia (Competent Authority) (MoE) — Develops gaming policy and legislation, sets licensing rules and issues licences; succeeded the Ministry of Finance as competent authority under the 2025 Gaming Law
- State Revenue Committee (Supervisory Authority) (SRC) — Supervises licensed organizers, monitors gaming activity and advertising, handles player complaints and coordinates website and payment blocking of unlicensed operators
Armenia gambling licence: how it works
Licences are issued to Armenian legal entities for games of chance or internet games of chance, bookmaking (including online) and lotteries, for an indefinite period, subject to fit-and-proper checks on managers and on any shareholder acquiring 10% or more, who must show the lawful origin of funds. Land-based casinos are confined by zoning to Tsaghkadzor, Sevan, Jermuk and Meghri, with prohibitive duties elsewhere. Online organizers must host on a .am domain, operate only through the website and apps named in the licence, use certified software, connect to the central monitoring system, verify that every account or card funding a gaming account belongs to the player, and keep a deposit in an Armenian bank equal to twice the annual state duty. A private gaming regulation operator selected by an interagency commission will run monitoring for the state.
What an applicant needs
- Armenian legal entity with fit-and-proper managers and vetted shareholders of 10% or more, including lawful origin of funds
- Annual state duty paid in advance and a bank deposit equal to twice the annual duty (about AMD 1.2 billion for online games)
- Website and apps on a .am domain, named in the licence, with certified gaming software
- Connection to the central monitoring system with reporting of games and transactions
- Dedicated gaming accounts funded only from a bank account or card verified as the player's own
- Age gate of 21 for games of chance and bookmaking (18 for lotteries) and checks against restricted-persons and self-exclusion data
- AML program with reporting of bets, ticket purchases and winnings of AMD 1 million or more
Gambling taxes in Armenia
- Operators: Corporate income tax of 18% on profits; gaming operations are exempt from VAT. The main fiscal burden is the annual state duty (AMD 600 million for online games, bookmaking or lotteries) and the escalating duty on accepted bets, which doubled from 1 April 2025 and rises with the coefficient to 5.0 in 2028.
- Players: Winnings from licensed organizers are taxed at 5%, 'large winnings' above AMD 5 million at 10%, and winnings from unlicensed organizers at 20%; for ordinary winnings the base is the positive difference between winnings credited and bets placed over the year.
- Also: Bet-volume duties are non-refundable even if the purchased volume is not used. Fines reach AMD 2 million per advertising breach.
Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments
Advertising
Only licensed organizers may advertise in Armenia, and advertising of foreign gambling, including on websites accessible from Armenia, is prohibited. Mass-media promotion of monetary winnings is banned, broadcasts of draws are limited to 22:00 to 07:00 and 30 minutes, outdoor signs may show only a name or logo within size caps, and adverts must carry 21+ (18+ for lotteries) and loss warnings and may not show minors or money, promise winnings or present gambling as income. Licensed brands appear mainly in luxury hotels, at border points and on their own channels, and from 8 February 2027 promotional material must be approved by the supervisory authority in advance.
Responsible gaming
Minors under 21 (18 for lotteries), bankrupt persons, recipients of social assistance, people under addiction treatment and persons declared incapacitated for causing financial hardship to their families are barred, with verification against state databases. Citizens may self-exclude for at least one year, and a mandatory self-exclusion system for online gambling took effect in April 2026.
Identity and age verification
Players open a dedicated gaming account after identity verification, and the bank account or card used to fund it must be verified as the player's own under Ministry of Finance orders 315-N and 317-N. Organizers are AML reporting entities with an AMD 1 million threshold for bets, ticket purchases and winnings.
Payments
Cash is not used online: deposits come only from the player's own bank account or card and winnings return to the same player. A register of restricted domains is shared with the Central Bank so payments to foreign operators can be blocked; from 8 February 2027 payment providers must reject gambling-coded (MCC 7995) transactions to unlicensed operators, banks must restrict transfers linked to blocked sites and ISPs must block listed websites.
Notable restrictions
- Age 21 for games of chance and bookmaking, 18 for lotteries
- Online organizers must use .am domains and certified software connected to central monitoring
- Deposits only from the player's own verified bank account or card; no cash online
- Advertising confined to approved formats, hotels, border points and own channels; foreign gambling ads banned
- ISP and payment blocking of unlicensed operators, strengthened from 8 February 2027
Armenia iGaming market: size, players and payments
No reliable public estimate of gross gaming revenue is published; the 2025 and 2026 reforms cite widespread play with unlicensed foreign sites as the reason for tighter blocking and payment controls.
No official participation statistics are published; the State Revenue Committee has supervised the sector and handled player complaints since January 2025.
Domestic brands are app-led and the Gaming Law requires apps to be named in the licence; no official mobile share is published.
Domestic brands VBET (Vivaro) and TotoGaming lead online betting and casino alongside a few other licensed bookmakers and lottery organizers; the AMD 600 million annual duty keeps the field narrow.
Timeline: how Armenia got here
- 2003Law on Games of Chance, Internet Games of Chance and Casinos creates the licence system
- 2023-07Duty on the volume of accepted bets introduced for online games and totalizators
- 2024-06Bookmaker annual duty set at AMD 600 million and escalating coefficients adopted on 12 June
- 2025-01Law on Regulation of Gaming Activities in force: .am domains, geo-blocking, State Revenue Committee as supervisor
- 2025-04Bet-volume duty coefficient 2.0 applies from 1 April (3.0 from January 2026)
- 2026-04Mandatory self-exclusion system for online gambling introduced
- 2026-07National Assembly adopts amendments on ISP blocking, MCC 7995 payment rejection and advertising pre-approval
- 2027-02Blocking, payment and advertising amendments take effect on 8 February
Outlook
The government must publish detailed procedures for the blocking list and payment restrictions before 8 February 2027, and the State Revenue Committee is fast-tracking the private software partner for the central monitoring hub. The Ministry of Finance has signaled work on a dedicated gambling regulator, and the bet-volume coefficient rises to 4.0 in 2027 and 5.0 in 2028, so licence costs keep climbing.
Launching in Armenia with GameBridge
Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Armenian licences are granted to an Armenian legal entity that the operator controls and finances with the state duty and bank deposit, so the operator holds the licence and runs on GameBridge technology; GameBridge does not hold an Armenian licence and does not guarantee approval.
An Armenian brand on GameBridge runs on the operator's .am domain with Armenian, English and Russian-language content, an AMD wallet, geo-controls admitting Armenian residents only, and registration that verifies identity, applies the 21+ gate and checks restricted-persons and self-exclusion data. Deposits are accepted only from a bank account or card verified as the player's own, and payouts return to the same source. Game and transaction data stream to the central monitoring system, the marketing module is limited to approved formats with a pre-approval workflow, and GameBridge Studios and Originals releases ship with the certification package Armenian software rules require.
- AMD wallet and Armenian-market geo lists on the operator's .am domain
- 21+ identity gate with restricted-persons and self-exclusion checks
- Deposits restricted to the player's own verified account or card
- Central monitoring system data feed
- Marketing module with pre-approval workflow and approved formats only
- AML reporting at the AMD 1 million threshold
- Certification package for GameBridge Studios and Originals releases
Football betting and slots lead Armenian play; GameBridge aggregates studios whose games can pass Armenian certification and builds exclusive GameBridge Studios titles to the operator's brief.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling legal in Armenia?
How much does an Armenian online gambling licence cost?
What is the gambling tax in Armenia?
Can a foreign company get an Armenian gambling licence?
What is the gambling age in Armenia and can operators advertise?
How does GameBridge help operators launch in Armenia?
Sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.
- Gaming Law 2025: Armenia — Law and Practice — Chambers and Partners, accessed 2026-09-11
- Gaming Law 2025: Armenia — Trends and Developments — Chambers and Partners, accessed 2026-09-11
- Law of the Republic of Armenia on amendments to the Law on State Fee (bet-volume duty coefficients) — CIS Legislation, accessed 2026-09-11
- Armenia iGaming License: Legal Requirements for B2B and B2C — MB Legal, accessed 2026-09-11
- Armenia to crack down on unlicensed online gambling — Armenpress, accessed 2026-09-11
- Armenia targets illegal gambling with payment and ISP blocks — The iGaming, accessed 2026-09-11
- Armenia introduces new payment controls in bid to tackle unlicensed gambling — Focus Gaming News, accessed 2026-09-11
Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.