IAUI Releases Latest Revenue Figures of Latvia’s Regulated Online Gambling Market

The Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of Latvia (IAUI) has released the latest revenue figures of Latvia’s regulated online gambling market.

The latest figures show state-licensed gambling operators generated combined revenue of €237.1m in the nine months ending September 30, a 12.2% rise over the same period last year.

Over €171m of this sum came via gambling machines, a 9% rise over the same period last year, while gaming tables were up less than 3% to €12.7m.

Latvia’s nine licensed online gambling operators contributed €38.8m to the year-to-date revenue total, a 35.5% year-on-year improvement. Casino games contributed the bulk (€27.86m, +38%) of online gambling revenue, followed by sports betting (€10.6m, +28.3%), while “card games” grew 77.7% to €303k.

The IAUI’s ongoing efforts to clear a digital path for its nine licensees have continued unabated this year, with the number of blocked international gambling domains increasing by 71 to 1186. As of January 1, 2020, processing payments on behalf of any online gambling site not bearing an IAUI stamp of approval will be illegal.

In November, Latvian Finance Minister Jānis Reirs announced that local financial institutions would begin testing their new payment-blocking systems this month to ensure things were all set for January’s starting gun.