A draft law has been prepared in Armenia that significantly tightens the rules for participating in gambling and online casinos. The document provides for a ban on access to gaming services for a number of socially vulnerable categories of citizens, and also introduces a mechanism for voluntary self-restriction for a period of 5 years.

Recipients of state benefits and subsidies, low-income families, residents of social housing, citizens undergoing bankruptcy proceedings or having debts to the budget, as well as individuals registered with an addiction treatment center, may fall under the restrictions. In addition, citizens whose consumer loans exceed 40% of their annual income, as well as pensioners, if their pension is their sole source of funds, will not be able to participate in gambling.

The bill also introduces a financial limit: gambling expenses should not exceed 20% of a citizen's declared annual income. Users will be able to independently submit an application to ban their participation in games, and operators will be obliged to place a prominent self-exclusion function on their websites and transmit information about such restrictions to government agencies.

To control this, a player identification system and a mechanism for checking for restrictions are planned. However, the new rules will not apply to foreign citizens. If the law is adopted, it will come into force 10 days after official publication.