Latvian Parliament has now submitted a proposal for the country’s 2020 budget, which will see an increase in gaming taxes levied on land-based gambling in the country.
If the proposal is accepted and the budget comes into effect, the flat fee levied on each slot machine in operation will rise from €4,164 to €5,172. In addition to this, operators of roulette and table games will also have to pay an annual fee of €28,080 per gaming table they operate in 2020, up from €23,400 in 2019.
The proposal will also see 90 per cent of gambling taxes and fees allocated to the country’s national budget. The remaining 10 per cent would be granted to the region in which these taxes are collected.
The draft budget however, does not include any changes to taxes for the country’s igaming market.
Within documents which formed part of the new laws, the Latvian government stated that there are 8,643 slot machines in the country and 61 gaming tables. This means that if the numbers of machines and tables remain the same, the increase in taxes would bring in about €9m.
The government have also noted that over the first six months of 2019, gaming machines generated revenue of €111.5m at an average of €12,896 per device. At the same time however, table games generated €8.1m, or €132,164 per table, over the same period.
The budget which has been introduced by finance minister Jānis Reirs, has been introduced to the country’s budget and finance committee before it is read in the Saeima, the country’s Parliament.
If passed, the law will come into effect on 1 January, 2020.
