Prime Minister of RA: It is unacceptable when casino and winning  games are the locomotive of the development of the domestic economy

ArmInfo. In Armenia, there is a need to radically change the structure of the country's  economy. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol  Pashinyan stated this at a government meeting on September 20,  commenting on the draft amendments to the Law on Lotteries and a  package of related laws submitted by the deputies of the National  Assembly.

The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia Atom Janjugazyan,  who introduced the draft amendments, noted that RA NA deputies Naira  Zohrabyan and Alain Simonyan suggested transferring gambling machines  and other gambling, including sweepstakes to strictly defined places  - in Tsakhkadzor, Sevan, Dzhermuk and Meghri. In addition, it is  proposed to establish the age limit, limit participation in the game  of those recognized incompetent, block gambling-site sites in public  places and set limits on the repayment in cash. The executive body  will also require the provision of financial guarantees to protect  the interests of participants in the games. The government considers  it expedient to establish a guarantee in the amount of the state  duty, namely, 500 million drams. The minister agreed that the  innovation could lead to a reduction in the number of casino  organizers and win-win games, although he does not see any risks for  the state budget taking into account well-documented payments of 500  million drams.

In response, the Prime Minister noted that currently the locomotives  of the Armenian economy are agriculture, ore exports and gambling.  "The country has become an open air casino, we must break this  structure, focusing on the production of high-tech products, the  development of information technologies, competitive food and light  industry," Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that the current structure of  the economy cannot be effective. "This is absurd: on the one hand, we  have a 30% poor population, and on the other, gambling is being  promoted," he said, calling for a ban on slot machines and gas  stations.