Out of the capital, into four towns
Most countries that want to contain gambling restrict who may play or how much may be lost. Armenia restricted where. Laws effective from the beginning of 2014 banned casinos from Yerevan and confined them to a short list of places: Tsaghkadzor, Sevan, Jermuk and Meghri, all resort towns, and Zvartnots International Airport.
The zoning goes further than the town boundary. Premises in Tsaghkadzor and Sevan must sit at least 100 metres in a straight line from schools, cultural institutions, government or municipal buildings and hospitals; in Jermuk and Meghri the distance is 50 metres. Meghri sits on the Iranian border, which is not an accident of geography.
A licence fee that is really a location fee
The annual casino licence is not one number. It is AMD 180 million in Tsaghkadzor, AMD 150 million in Sevan, AMD 100 million in Jermuk and AMD 35 million in Meghri. The state has effectively priced its own map: the closer a town is to where players already are, the more the licence costs, and the remote border town is offered at a fifth of the price.
Online is treated separately and expensively. Internet games of chance, bookmaking and lotteries each carry an annual fee of AMD 600 million, several times the dearest land-based casino licence. Advertising has been restricted since 2015, permitted only at land-based gaming venues and four-star hotels. A new Law on the Regulation of Gaming Activities took effect on 1 January 2025, adding responsible gambling and fair play requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are there casinos in Yerevan?
- No. Casinos have been banned from the capital since laws taking effect at the start of 2014.
- Where can you gamble in Armenia?
- In Tsaghkadzor, Sevan, Jermuk and Meghri, and at Zvartnots International Airport.
- Why does the licence fee differ by town?
- It is set per location, from AMD 180 million in Tsaghkadzor to AMD 35 million in Meghri, which makes the remote border town far cheaper to operate in than the nearby resort.
Legal age, regulator and the tax treatment of player winnings on this page were checked against the regulator's own material or a reputable legal summary in August 2026. Gambling law moves; confirm anything consequential with the regulator before relying on it. Where sources disagreed, this site leaves the figure out rather than guessing.