Latvia: gambling regulation and licensing
Republic of Latvia
- Online casinoRegulated
- Online sports bettingRegulated
- Land-based (reference)Regulated
- Regulator
- State Revenue Service
- Headline tax
- 15% GGR
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Last verified
- 30 Aug 2026
Summary
Latvia has licensed online gambling since 2006 under the Gambling and Lotteries Law, with licensed operators required to run on a .lv domain and unlicensed sites blocked. What changed in 2026 was who supervises it and what it costs. The Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection, the IAUI, no longer exists as a standalone regulator. It was integrated into the State Revenue Service on 1 April 2026, with its supervision and control functions split between two units in the service's Non-Financial Sector Supervision Department. Most third-party guidance still names IAUI. Tax rose at the start of the same year. From 1 January 2026 interactive gambling is taxed at 15% of gross gaming revenue, up from 12%, betting at 18% up from 15%, and bingo at 12% up from 10%, a package the Ministry of Finance projected would raise an additional 9.2 million euros. Both changes landed in the same year, so guidance written before 2026 is wrong on the regulator and on the rates simultaneously. The .lv domain requirement remains the simplest way to check whether a site is operating lawfully in Latvia.
Common pitfalls
The IAUI was absorbed into the State Revenue Service on 1 April 2026 and is no longer the regulator, though most guidance still names it.
Key facts
- Regulator
- State Revenue Service (VID)
- Regulator type
- Government ministry
- Headline tax
- 15% GGR
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Minimum age
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- Interactive gambling is taxed at 15% of gross gaming revenue from 1 January 2026, raised from 12%. Betting rose from 15% to 18% and bingo from 10% to 12% at the same time.
- Capital
- Riga
- Currency
- EUR
- Official languages
- Latvian
Legal framework
Primary statutes
Gambling and Lotteries Law
- Year
- 2006
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- The framework under which online gambling has been licensed in Latvia since 2006. Licensed operators must run on a .lv domain, and unlicensed sites are blocked.
Key amendments
- 1 Apr 2026The Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection (IAUI) was integrated into the State Revenue Service, which now carries out gambling supervision through two units in its Non-Financial Sector Supervision Department.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- 15% GGR
- Effective date
- 1 Jan 2026
- Tax base
- Interactive gambling is taxed at 15% of gross gaming revenue from 1 January 2026, raised from 12%. Betting rose from 15% to 18% and bingo from 10% to 12% at the same time.
Advertising
- Advertising permitted
- No
- Affiliate rules
- Affiliates are not separately licensed. Affiliate promotion falls within the general advertising prohibition, and only .lv-domain licensed operators are lawful to promote at all.
- Celebrity and influencer rules
- With advertising prohibited outside licensed premises, there is no lawful route for celebrity or influencer promotion of gambling to Latvian consumers.
- Social media rules
- Online and social media promotion is caught by the general prohibition, which is not limited to broadcast and print.
- Penalties for breach
- The State Revenue Service supervises gambling and can act against unlawful advertising, with site blocking used against unlicensed operators.
Restrictions
- Gambling advertising is prohibited in Latvia, with the principal exception being communications inside the premises of licensed land-based gaming halls and casinos.
- The practical effect is that gambling advertising is close to absent from public media and public space.
- Licensed operators must run on a .lv domain, which gives players a visible marker of lawful supply in place of advertising.
- Unlicensed sites are blocked, so promotion of offshore operators is unlawful and the sites themselves are inaccessible.
- Supervision passed to the State Revenue Service on 1 April 2026, when the standalone inspectorate was integrated into it.
Outlook
A regulator newly folded into a tax authority is worth watching on process: supervision inside a revenue service tends to shift emphasis toward compliance and collection. The rates moved in 2026 and are unlikely to move again immediately.
Frequently asked questions
- Who regulates gambling in Latvia?
- The State Revenue Service. The former regulator, the IAUI, was integrated into it on 1 April 2026.
- What is the online gambling tax rate?
- Interactive gambling is taxed at 15% of gross gaming revenue from 1 January 2026, raised from 12%.
Sources
- State Revenue Service
Republic of Latvia
Tier 1Accessed 22 Aug 2026 - Tier 2Accessed 22 Aug 2026