The Constitutional Court of Latvia has decided that the restrictions imposed by the Riga municipality on licensed gambling venues are illegal.
The court called on the Latvian judicial system to reconsider the Riga Council’s plans to close 139 gambling venues in the capital.
This order was supported by the city council, which decided to tighten “security, order and anti-corruption measures in Riga.”
Linda Ozola, a city councilor, supported the measures as protection for the “80,000 Riga residents suffering from gambling problems.”
An appeal was immediately filed by Alfors, Olympic Casino Latvia, Joker Ltd and Admiral Klubs, whose establishments were ordered to close.
If the order had been implemented, gambling in Riga would have been limited to establishments in four- and five-star hotels.
Latvian judges have been tasked with reviewing the rationale for the Council’s decision to impose commercial restrictions on gambling establishments, which were ordered to close by 2025.
The court concluded that municipalities have the right to impose restrictions on gambling within their borders. However, the Riga Council did not satisfy key requirements and technical details when implementing the order to close gambling establishments.
According to Latvian media: “The Court concluded that Riga’s municipality failed to adequately justify the exclusion of gambling from the functional zoning in its spatial plan, where commercial activity is deemed one of the permissible uses of the territory”.
It is worth noting that the Court found that the Riga Council violated the constitutional law that protects the contractual rights of gambling dealers who were issued permits from the City Council.
Latvian operators claim that since 2018, the Riga council has closed 48 gambling establishments without proper justification or permission.
Before the ruling, the Latvian Gambling Association argued that such actions violated the rights of merchants, including the principle of legitimate expectations and the rights of foreign investors to participate in the Latvian economy.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Telegram channel!
