Online gambling in Latvia: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Latvia?

Latvia has regulated interactive gambling since the Gambling and Lotteries Law of 2006. A licence to operate gambling is granted only to a capital company registered in Latvia with paid-up share capital of at least EUR 1,400,000, and non-EU/EEA/OECD investors may not hold more than 49%. The licence is indefinite but re-registered every year, and interactive operators must certify their systems, settle with players only through Latvian bank accounts and check the national self-exclusion register. The interactive gambling tax increased from 12% to 15% of gross gaming revenue on 1 January 2026, betting from 15% to 18%, and on 1 April 2026 the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection (IAUI) was absorbed into the State Revenue Service (VID). Gambling advertising is banned outside venues, with a narrow trademark exception for licensed betting sponsors since April 2026.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in Latvia?

• Valsts ieņēmumu dienests (State Revenue Service) (VID) — Since 1 April 2026 the licensing, supervisory and tax authority for gambling and lotteries, having absorbed the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection (IAUI); keeps the self-exclusion register and the blocklist of illegal sites
• Finanšu ministrija (Ministry of Finance) (FM) — Owns gambling policy and the Law on Lotteries and Gambling Fee and Tax

Latvia gambling licence: how it works

A licence to operate gambling is issued to a capital company registered in Latvia whose paid-up share capital is at least EUR 1,400,000, whose non-EU/EEA/OECD shareholders hold no more than 49%, and at least half of whose board members are EU/EEA/OECD tax residents. The regulator assesses the origin of the capital, the annual report and a development plan and must decide within 90 days. The licence is granted for an indefinite period but must be re-registered every year, with the application filed two months before the deadline and a decision within 30 days. An operator that will offer only interactive gambling pays a reduced issuance duty of EUR 200,000 instead of EUR 427,000. Interactive operators must also have their gambling system certified by an accredited body, obtain approval of the responsible person, use an account at a Latvian credit institution for player settlements and file quarterly statements of bets and prizes to VID.

What an applicant needs

• Capital company registered in Latvia with paid-up share capital of at least EUR 1,400,000 and documented origin of funds
• Non-EU/EEA/OECD shareholding capped at 49%; at least half of board members EU/EEA/OECD tax residents
• Certification of the interactive gambling system by an accredited certification body
• Approved responsible person for interactive gambling before operations start
• Player settlements only through an account at a credit institution registered in Latvia; payouts to the account funds came from
• Age verification (18+) and real-time check of the self-exclusion register
• Quarterly statements of bets and prizes with bank confirmations to VID
• AML program under the Latvian AML/CTF law

Gambling taxes in Latvia

• Operators: Interactive gambling 15% of GGR from 1 January 2026 (12% in 2024 and 2025, 10% before); betting, totalizator and telephone games 18% (15% before 2026); bingo 12%. Land-based: EUR 7,440 per slot-machine seat and EUR 40,440 per table per year from 2026. Corporate income tax of 20% applies to distributed profits.
• Players: Lottery and gambling winnings up to EUR 3,000 in a tax year are exempt from personal income tax; amounts above that are taxed at the progressive PIT rates (25.5% up to EUR 105,300 of annual income and 33% above, from 2025).
• Also: Operators paid EUR 59 million in gambling taxes and duties and about EUR 55 million in other taxes in 2025. The 2026 increases were part of the state budget and are expected to raise EUR 9.2 million a year.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Section 41 of the Gambling and Lotteries Law prohibits advertising gambling and interactive gambling websites outside gambling venues; at a venue only its name and the operator's registered trademark may be displayed. Since 1 April 2026 registered figurative trademarks of licensed betting and totalizator operators may appear in sports sponsorship (events and kit) without a call to action and with an age warning and self-exclusion information. Inducements, bonuses and gambling advertising in mainstream media remain prohibited, so retention happens on-site.

Responsible gaming

The national Self-exclusion Register, launched in 2020, lets any person bar themselves from all gambling and interactive lotteries for at least 12 months; operators have remote access and must refuse registered persons. Age 18 applies to all gambling. Operators must publish information on the register and on the harms of excessive gambling, and interactive operators must offer account controls.

Identity and age verification

Players are identified at registration and their age verified; interactive operators may only settle through Latvian bank accounts, which ties each account to a verified person. Gambling operators are AML-obliged entities supervised by VID, which now combines licensing, tax and AML oversight.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals for interactive gambling run through accounts at credit institutions registered in Latvia, and winnings are returned to the account the stake came from. Operators may not grant loans or credit to players. Since January 2020 banks and payment providers must block transactions with unlicensed gambling sites, and VID maintains a domain blocklist for ISPs (284 domains were added in 2024).

Notable restrictions

• Latvian-registered company with EUR 1,400,000 paid-up capital; non-EU/EEA/OECD ownership capped at 49%
• Gambling advertising banned outside venues, with a narrow sponsorship trademark exception from April 2026
• Settlements only through Latvian credit institutions; no loans or credit to players
• Mandatory self-exclusion register check; minimum 12-month exclusion
• ISP blocking and payment blocking of unlicensed operators
• Lotteries reserved to state-owned Latvijas Loto

Latvia iGaming market: size, players and payments

Licensed gambling revenue was EUR 299.6 million in 2025, flat on 2024, with interactive gambling at EUR 170.7 million (57% of the market, up 10.9%), of which online casino EUR 146.6 million and online sports betting EUR 20.8 million; slot halls fell 11% to EUR 115.8 million (IAUI data, February 2026).

Twenty companies operated gambling in Latvia in 2025, 17 of them interactive; one new interactive licence was issued in September 2025 while 14 slot-hall licences were surrendered, and 4,047 slot machines remained in December 2025 (IAUI).

Interactive play is predominantly mobile in Latvia, but the regulator does not publish a channel split.

Seventeen interactive licensees compete, led by Olympic Casino Latvia (OlyBet), Optibet, Betsafe (Betsson), 11.lv (Alfor), Fenikss, Klondaika and LVBet; Latvijas Loto holds the lottery monopoly.

Timeline: how Latvia got here

1. 2006Gambling and Lotteries Law adopted, creating the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection (IAUI) and interactive licences
2. 2020-01National Self-exclusion Register launches and banks must block payments to unlicensed sites
3. 2024-01Interactive gambling tax rises from 10% to 12% of GGR
4. 2025-01Annual licence re-registration duty rises from EUR 37,000 to EUR 45,000
5. 2026-01Interactive tax rises to 15% and betting to 18%; land-based per-machine and per-table duties increase
6. 2026-04IAUI merged into the State Revenue Service (VID); sponsorship trademark exception to the advertising ban takes effect

Outlook

VID is integrating licensing, tax and AML supervision after the April 2026 merger, and operators should expect combined inspections. The 2026 rates are written into the tax law with no further scheduled increase, but the 2027 budget could revisit them. Interactive revenue keeps growing while slot halls shrink, and the sponsorship exception will test how far betting brands can be visible in sport under an otherwise total advertising ban.

Launching in Latvia with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Latvian licences are granted only to a Latvian capital company with EUR 1.4 million of paid-up capital that the operator controls, so the operator holds the licence and runs on GameBridge technology; GameBridge does not hold a Latvian licence and does not guarantee approval.

A Latvian brand on GameBridge runs with Latvian, English and Russian-language content supplied by the operator, a EUR wallet, geo-controls admitting Latvian residents only, identity and 18+ verification at registration and a check of the self-exclusion register at every login. Payment rails are limited to the operator's Latvian bank accounts with payouts routed back to the source account, and the bonus and marketing modules are configured for on-site retention because advertising outside venues is prohibited. Quarterly bet-and-prize statements are exported in VID's format, and GameBridge Studios and Originals releases ship with the certification package an accredited body needs.

• EUR wallet and Latvian-market geo lists
• 18+ identity verification and self-exclusion check at login
• Payments restricted to Latvian bank accounts with source-account payouts
• Marketing module configured for on-site retention only
• Quarterly VID reporting exports of bets and prizes
• Certification package for GameBridge Studios and Originals releases
• AML case management aligned to VID supervision

Online slots, live casino and ice hockey betting lead Latvian lobbies; GameBridge aggregates the studios already certified for Baltic markets and builds exclusive GameBridge Studios titles to the operator's brief.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Azartspēļu organizēšanas licences saņemšanas nosacījumi — Valsts ieņēmumu dienests, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gambling and Lotteries Law (English translation) — Likumi.lv, accessed 2026-09-11
• Par izložu un azartspēļu nodevu un nodokli — Likumi.lv, accessed 2026-09-11
• Par grozījumiem likumā Par izložu un azartspēļu nodevu un nodokli (2026 rates) — Valsts ieņēmumu dienests, accessed 2026-09-11
• Changes in the Latvian gambling regulation — NJORD Law Firm, accessed 2026-09-11
• Latvia Gambling Revenue Reaches EUR 299.6 Million in 2025 — The iGaming, accessed 2026-09-11
• Non-taxable income — Finanšu ministrija, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.