Armenia will require telecommunications operators to block unlicensed online gambling and lottery websites starting February 8, 2027, under new rules from the State Revenue Committee (SRC).
State news agency Armenpress reported that the SRC is developing the measures as part of a wider reform package intended to tighten oversight of illegal gambling operators.
The provisions revise existing sections of the Law on Regulation of Gaming Activities governing the blocking of unlicensed operators that offer online gambling and lottery services.
Telecommunications operators will carry out the blocking once the rules take effect. The SRC said the changes are necessary because offshore platforms have become easier to access through digital means. Along with the blocking requirement, advertising options for unlicensed operators will face substantial new limits under the same provisions.
The telecom blocking rules build on a full overhaul of Armenia’s gambling legislation. The National Assembly adopted the current framework in June 2024, and it took effect on January 1, 2025.
Since then, additional measures have expanded the scope of gambling oversight in Armenia. In February, the National Assembly adopted amendments creating a single digital system for gambling regulation.
The system connects all licensed operators into one centralized digital infrastructure, delivers real-time information on wagers, deposits and losses, and covers both online and land-based providers. A single operator selected by the SRC manages the system.
Malta-based RegTech firm Random Systems International (RSI) won the 15-year gambling regulator license for that role through an open tender process in August.
The SRC ordered RSI to develop, optimize and launch its proprietary system in Armenia by January 2027, placing that deadline just weeks before the telecom blocking rules take effect.
The telecom measure follows earlier action against unlicensed operators through the banking system. In May, the cabinet of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave the Ministry of Finance expanded authority over Armenian banks and financial institutions to prevent them from facilitating payments to unlicensed gambling operators.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/09/08/126283-armenia-orders-telecom-operators-to-block-illegal-gambling-websites
