By a vote of 67 the Armenian parliament has approved today in the second and final reading a bill drafted by MPs Gevorg Papoyan and Tsovinar Vardanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party that calls for restricting gamblers' chances to top up their accounts.
According to Papoyan, there are now three ways for gamblers to make bets: with cash, with e-money and non-cash through bank accounts or payment cards. He says after the bill signed into law it will immediately ban betting with cash; in another 6 months it will ban bets via electronic money and only the non-cash method will remain.
Papoyan cited the latest updated data, which says the volume of annual betting turnover in Armenia is as much as 3.9 trillion drams.
"With this bill we will significantly limit the ability of citizens to make easy bets,' he said, adding that the funds used to make bets would be used instead to address social welfare, education, health and other issues.
Earlier on March 4, the parliament tightened restrictions on advertising of Internet gambling and betting games, ARKA reports.
