YEREVAN, April 7, /ARKA/. Armenia’s deputy finance minister, Vardan Aramyan said Tuesday the country’s gambling industry will undergo a major overhaul in line with the Concept on Regulation and Control of the Gambling Business Sector, passed by the government on April 1. He said the concept ensures a larger government control over the halls including regular visitor quantity counts and higher annual fees.

The idea behind the reform is to prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other illegal activities from taking place, he told a news conference on Tuesday.

Armenian government passed a decision last year to move Armenia’s casinos away from all cities such as the capital Yerevan. The country’s three largest resort towns, Jermuk, Tsaghkadzor and Sevan would instead play host to the country’s gambling halls.

According to Aramyan, the new bill aids “larger companies in this sector” which “are more disciplined and have control systems, separate subdivisions to fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Currently, Armenia has 11 casinos and 103 gambling halls, which pay some 4 billion Drams of taxes. Beginning from 2013 casinos will pay a single duty of 1.2 billion Drams, the amount of which will lower depending on the zones, up to 400 million Drams. ($1 – 402.11 Drams). -0-