The draft law of casino business development in small towns of Armenia is treated ambiguously by specialists in different spheres with some believing that the major resort towns will lose its role as resort destinations and others arguing that the initiative will promote the development of tourism in Armenia

According to the draft law, starting from January 1, 2013, casinos can be founded only in resort towns of Tsakhkadzor (Kotayk province), Jermuk (Vayots Dzor province), and Sevan (Gegharkunik province).

“We will face a threat of losing our small towns which have an important role in sport, rest and health sectors. It is hard to imagine how a person who wants to become healthy and a gambler can live in one and the same place,” Karine Hakobyan, ex-deputy minister of labor and social issues said at a press conference on Wednesday. (The amendments in the RA Law ‘Gambling and Casinos’ are included in the agenda of the four-day session of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia.)

Vardan Aramyan, Deputy Minister of Finances of Armenia, and Vardan Ayvazyan, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, do not see any threat here, believing that the initiative will greatly promote the development of tourism in Armenia.

They brought an example how tourism was developed in foreign countries thanks to casinos, overlooking the fact that casinos in foreign countries are built not near populated areas, but rather in less-populated areas.

“We simply want to create a proportionality of territorial development and to draft effective mechanisms of control,” Aramyan said.

However, it is not clear yet how well this project will work. Amendments will result in removing the approved payments from casinos and instead raise the annual state tax prescribed from them (from 400 million drams ---$1,066,000 -- to one billion drams, $2,666,000).