Obtaining a gambling license in Latvia is the main condition for running a gambling business in this country. The government of Latvia allows operators to offer absolutely all types of gambling activities, including online casinos. The issuance of a gambling license is carried out by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of Latvia (IAUI). They are allowed to get a gambling license in Latvia for both citizens of Latvia and foreign companies.
Before you decide to enter the gambling market in this region and apply for a gambling license, you need to know the following features of this jurisdiction:
- A gambling license in Latvia is issued for one year.
- Operators have the right to provide gambling services only to those players who are 21 years or more.
- The consideration of the application takes three months.
Operators can receive a Latvian gambling license for the following types of gambling activities:
- games for land-based and online casinos (card games, slots, bingo roulette;
- sportsbooks’ activities.
Requirements for obtaining a license for a casino in Latvia
- Register of a company in the territory of Latvia.
- Prepare the necessary package of documents and confirm the availability of the required amount of personal funds.
- The software must be certified (if you are the owner of a land-based casino, you must receive a certificate for slot machines).
- Confirm the payment of duty.
- The absence of a criminal record among the key persons of the company.
- 50% of directors of the company must be citizens of the Republic of Latvia.
Required package of documents
The operator must provide the appropriate package of documents to obtain a Latvian gambling license:
- Application.
- Identity documents of the directors and founders of the company.
- Financial reports for the current year.
- Documents that confirm the origin of funds of key persons of the company.
- Availability of certificates for software and gaming equipment.
License fees and taxation in Latvia
The cost of a Latvian gambling license is quite high. To obtain permission to provide online and offline gambling services, the operator will have to pay a fee of €427,000. If the operator decides to provide gambling services only on the Internet, he will have to pay €200,000. Also, it should be noted that a gambling license is issued only for a year, and you will need to renew it. The cost of the annual license renewal is €37,000.
It should be noted that if you want to renew your Latvian gambling license, you have to submit the application and the necessary package of documents to the IAUI no later than two months before the expiration of the current license.
As for the taxation of the gambling business in Latvia, the operators are taxed at a rate of 10% of their income.
