Armenia`s Cabinet approves order of contest for gaming sector  operator 

ArmInfo. The operator for regulating gambling activities in Armenia will be selected on a  competitive basis for a period of 15 years, after which the  infrastructure must be transferred to the state.

On August 14, the Armenian government approved the procedure for  holding a competition to select a gambling operator, participation in  the procedure for selecting an operator by a consortium, concluding  an agreement with the operator and determining the grounds for  recognizing the competition as invalid.

Back in March of this year, during the government hour in parliament,  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that a separate operator  would regulate the gambling sector in Armenia.

"There is an agreement, legislative regulation has been developed,  according to which such an operator will appear in the near future.  All (entities in the sphere) will "go through" this operator, and we  will receive information about bets, winnings, etc., on an individual  basis," he noted.

Already in June, the head of the State Revenue Committee Eduard  Hakobyan stated in parliament that after the election of a  professional operator who will join the system of taxpayers engaged  in the gaming business, the department he heads will receive full  information about transactions in real time.

"Then we will be able to say that we clearly control this process and  correctly calculate their taxes," Hakobyan said.

As stated in the explanation to today's document, until now the  current system lacked a clear and comprehensive procedure that would  ensure a transparent, competitive and non-discriminatory organization  of the selection of the operator, as well as the predictability of  the requirements and evaluation criteria for applicants.

Now, a number of important issues are being resolved: the legality  and transparency of the operator selection process is ensured, clear  criteria for the qualification and evaluation of proposals are  established, and a mechanism for excluding interested parties from  participation and participation in the form of a consortium is being  introduced. At the same time, the decision provides for clear cases  of recognizing the competition as invalid, which allows eliminating  artificial delays in the competition and ensuring normal management  of the industry. It also establishes the procedure for concluding an  agreement with the winner of the competition.

It is noted that the purpose of the regulation is to establish clear  and legal regulation of the organization and holding of a competition  for the selection of a gambling regulation operator, including cases  of consortium participation and recognition of the competition as  invalid, which creates the basis for the implementation of full state  control over gambling activities.

In accordance with the requirements of the Law of the Republic of  Armenia , the procedure for holding a  competition for the selection of a gambling regulation operator has  been established. The operator must be selected as a result of an  open competition, which is a two-stage competition carried out at the  stages of a qualification request and a request for proposals. The  draft establishes the procedure for each of these stages, the  requirements for the right to participate in the competition  submitted by applicants, a list of documents and certificates  submitted by applicants to the commission. The minimum deadlines for  submitting applications for qualification selection and applications  for the stage of request for proposals are set at 40 and 60 days,  respectively.

Also defined are the requirements for the technical proposal and  financial proposal submitted by applicants who have passed the stage  of request for proposals (qualified), the criteria of the technical  proposal

(1. business plan,

2. information system (software) and

3. physical infrastructure) and the subcriteria of each of them, the  weight and assessment given to each of them. The weight and  assessment of the financial proposal are also defined. The draft also  stipulates that the first selection of the operator for regulating  gambling activities is carried out using the selection evaluation  method based on quality and cost.

At the same time, the procedure for concluding an agreement with the  operator for regulating gambling activities, as well as the grounds  for recognizing the tender as invalid, are defined.

"The adoption of the decision will ensure the use of transparent,  competitive and predictable mechanisms for organizing and conducting  a tender for the selection of the operator for regulating gambling  activities in accordance with the law, contributing to the effective  regulation of the industry and increasing the effectiveness of state  control," noted the authors of the initiative, represented by the  State Revenue Committee of Armenia.