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Slots
Roulette
Cards
Videopoker
Blackjack
Live Roulette
Slots
Roulette
Cards
Videopoker
Blackjack
Live Roulette
Slots
Roulette
Cards
Videopoker
Blackjack
Online gambling in Latvia is licensed the same way as the land-based industry. 7 licenses for online platforms were issued in 2016; in the first quarter of 2026, 18 companies were organising interactive gambling. The license is issued for an indefinite period, but it must be re-registered every year for a certain fee. Due to high taxes and payments for licenses, online operators preferred not to obtain any permits and up until 2014 the market remained grey. Then Latvian government passed the Electronic Communications Law and published the first black list that contained the operators that are famous worldwide. The list is replenished on a regular basis, and since April 2026 it is handled by the State Revenue Service together with the rest of the Inspection's functions. Participation in interactive gambling that is organised without a Latvian licence is prohibited, and the register of licensed operators is published on the State Revenue Service website. The most visited licensed online brands include Optibet, OlyBet, Betsafe, Klondaika, Casino 777, Laimz, Joker, SynotTip, Pafbet and Luckybet, while the state lottery Latvijas Loto sells its games online as well. Illegal offshore operators remain a problem: according to industry estimates quoted in the Latvian press in 2026, they account for almost a third of the online market.
Gambling Games in Latvia
Latvian players mostly choose slots by Greentube, EGT, Pragmatic Play, Playson, Belatra and IGT, while classic titles by NetEnt and Play’n GO are still played. Besides Book of Ra Deluxe, Sizzling Hot Deluxe, Lucky Lady’s Charm Deluxe, Columbus Deluxe and Dolphin’s Pearl by Greentube are among the most played games, as well as the old slot-hall favourite Fruit Cocktail by Igrosoft. Below is the top five slots that have long been sought after with online casino visitors: Book of Ra Deluxe, Butterfly Staxx, 40 Super Hot, Gemix and Starburst. Book of Ra Deluxe is a five-reel slot with 10 paylines. You can earn a series of free spins with a special expanding symbol. The risk game will let you at least double your winnings. The highest payout with the maximum bet is 5,000,000 in-game units for 5 symbols of the adventure seekers. Butterfly Staxx is a slot developed by NetEnt. The slot comes with 5 reels and 40 paylines. The slot also features some re-spins and free spins. Special symbols depicted as chrysalis will land on the game screen during free spins. This is where butterflies come from and form winning combinations. 40 Super Hot is a slot developed by EGT that comes with 5 reels and 40 fixed paylines. The highest reward reaches 20,000 credits. The slot features 4 progressive jackpots. Gemix is a slot developed by Play’n GO. The slot features a 7x7 game screen. The game is based upon the arcade principle of three-in-a-row. The game features 4 bonuses with multipliers and extra symbols. You will traverse through various locations as the game progresses. Each location has special Wild symbols. Starburst is a five-reel slot by NetEnt that comes with 10 paylines. The highest multiplier is 250 for five Bar symbols. The slot has no bonus games available. This is one of the most primitive slots made by the developer.
Gambling Legislation
The Gambling industry in Latvia is regulated by three main laws: the Gambling and Lotteries Law, the Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fee and Law On Lotteries of Goods and Services. The Gambling and Lotteries Law was passed back in 2006. The law prescribes the main conditions and rules for games and covers the issuance of licenses. It has been amended many times; the amendments adopted on 3 December 2025 and in force since 1 April 2026 transferred all supervision to the State Revenue Service and tightened advertising rules: advertising may not directly or indirectly invite people to gamble, and trademarks of licensed operators shown at sports events must carry a warning that gambling is allowed only from the age of 18 and information about the self-exclusion register. Two other laws determine tax brackets for various games and lotteries for goods and services. Besides these laws there are over a dozen other provisions on specific issues. For example, Regulation No. 512 determines the procedure of overseeing games and lotteries. Regulation No. 701 determines the procedure of filing a report on lotteries of goods. The law states that operators can only install registered and certified equipment and software. Each slot machine, gaming table and software product must be registered with the supervisory authority (the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia, since April 2026 the State Revenue Service). For a certain fee, the Inspection will assign each one of them a personal number that will remain unchanged. Games can only take place inside designated sites: casinos, gambling halls, bingo halls, bookmaking offices or sports betting facilities. A casino in Riga must contain at least 10 gaming tables. Casinos outside of the capital must have at least 5 tables. These establishments are the only places where roulette games, card games and dice can be played. A gaming hall must have at least 20 slot machines. All sites must be located on separate premises, with a separate entrance. Slot machines must be linked into one network so that their operations can be monitored. A bookmaking office and a sportsbook office do not have to be located separately. They can be a part of the premises.
Regulators
The Gambling industry in Latvia was monitored by Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia (Izložu un azartspēļu uzraudzības inspekcija), which had worked under the Ministry of Finance since 1998. From 1 April 2026 the Inspection was merged into the State Revenue Service (Valsts ieņēmumu dienests), which now issues licences, approves managers of casinos, gaming halls and betting offices, and keeps the register of self-excluded persons. Local authorities will issue a permit on opening a specific site, which will then be reviewed by the State Revenue Service. Only persons aged 18 or over may gamble, and people who have registered in the self-exclusion register (for at least 12 months) may not be admitted to gambling venues or interactive gambling websites.
Gambling Licensing
To qualify for a license in Latvia, an applicant must be a joint-stock company registered in the country. The share capital must amount to at least 1,400,000 EUR. All licenses were issued by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia and, since 1 April 2026, are issued by the State Revenue Service. The permit is issued for an indefinite period of time, but must be re-registered each year. To apply for the common license, the company must submit the following items:
- Documents showing the financial and economic conditions of the operator
- Documents proving the absence of any debt
- The plan for the development of the next year should indicate the types of games being offered, expected amounts and cashflow
- Confirmation of the fact that all members of the Board of Directors, as well as auditors, are taxpayers from the EU or EEC, have a flawless reputation and the right to run the business
The authority will review the license for 90 days from the moment the application was submitted. Then the applicant must receive a permit to open a specific site. For this purpose the applicant must submit the plan for the prospective site, the documents that confirm the right of ownership of the site, the plan for the development of the facility and the permit from the local authorities, among other documents. The authority will also approve the managers of the casino or the other types of gambling establishments. Payment for the license will depend on the type of games and sites. So, the operator pays for a total of two licenses: for the operation as a whole and for opening the site. The operator also pays for each gaming item installed on the site. Current fees and taxes are set by the Law on Lotteries and Gambling Tax and Fee and have been revised several times; in the late 2010s the payments varied in the following range:
- Common license for all types of games - 427,000 EUR one-time fee when issued
- License for running a casino - 28,460 EUR annually
- Permit for running a gambling hall or a bingo hall - 4,270 EUR
- License for bookmaking and betting - 42,690 EUR
At that time operators paid tax for each piece of gaming equipment on an annual basis:
- For each roulette table - 17,279 EUR
- For a table for a card or dice game - 17,279 EUR
- For a slot machine - 3,141 EUR
- Bookmaking and betting - 15% of the company's profit
- Bingo - 10% from the organiser
- Online games of any kind - 15% of the operator's profit
Licensed varieties of gambling
Latvian law lists the following types of games as being legal: Slot machines,Roulette games, Card games, Dice, Betting, Bookmaking, Bingo and Gambling games available via phone. The rules of the game are determined by the operator and then submitted to the Inspection for endorsement. The document must describe the game process and other information in detail: information about the operator, amounts of bets, conditions for winning a prize etc. The same list of lawful games applies to online operators as well: RTP (Return to Player) for online games must be at least 80% of all bets that have ever been placed. For a long time Latvian players preferred slot machines: the proceeds from slot machines in 2016 were 182 million EUR. The balance has since shifted to the internet. In the first quarter of 2026 interactive gambling brought in 44.1 million EUR (including 37.7 million EUR from online casino games), slot machines 25.7 million EUR and gaming tables 2.6 million EUR, so online gambling is now ranked first, slot machines second and table games in casinos third.
Development of Gambling Market in Latvia
Latvia does not have that many developers of gaming software, yet many major developers have their offices in Latvia. BetConstruct and Evolution Gaming, for example, have their development studios in Riga. As far as Latvian developers are concerned, there is a company called DLV that has been in existence since 1994. The company manufactures gaming equipment for land-based casinos and mostly targets the local market. The Gambling industry in Latvia has been undergoing quite a successful development, and for a country as small as this, profits from casinos are quite substantial. For years online casinos experienced some difficulties and were mainly receding into the grey market. It is a know fact that remote gambling takes up most of the profits over time, and this has now happened in Latvia: since 2026 licensed interactive gambling generates more revenue than slot halls, which are losing visitors. The main challenge for the State Revenue Service, which took over supervision in April 2026, is to limit the share of unlicensed offshore websites, which industry analysts estimate at almost a third of the online market.
