Armenia’s Competition Protection Commission has imposed a fine of $799,000 on legal entities including Digitain LLC, Toto Sport LLC, and the Noah Football Club. Additionally, Soft Contract CJSC, Fast Media LLC, Fast Shift LLC, and Imagine Hub By Soft LLC have been fined $1.1 million for engaging in umbrella advertising that promoted unfair competition, particularly related to games of chance.
According to investigations by the Competition Commission, Digitain and Soft Contract were found to have used trademarks in violation of the law. Instances of trademark misuse and confusion through affiliated companies were also identified.
The umbrella advertising was conducted on social media, through endorsements by public figures (LOMs – leaders of public opinion), on payment terminal billboards, in films, and through other channels.
“It should be noted that Digitain and Soft Contract have acknowledged the offense and cooperated with the commission by providing crucial data for the investigation. The companies have been given a one-month period to rectify certain practices,” the defense letter states.
In January-August 2023, the volume of bets placed on internet games with winnings reached approximately $10 billion, a record figure compared to previous years: over the same period in 2019, bets averaged more than $1.5 billion, in 2020 – over $3 billion, in 2021 – about $6 billion, and in 2022 – about $9.8 billion.
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