Are you looking for a Latvian-licensed top online casino? If so, you've come to the right place. Although there are strict gambling regulations in Latvia, our team of experts have selected the best online casinos in Latvia for you to choose from.
Have a look at our listings of the best Latvian online casinos. Each operator has our mark of approval as they meet our strict standards of safety and fair play.
You can browse through casino sites licensed by the Latvian government, or have a look at a number of foreign online casinos that accept players from Latvia.
There is a vast selection of games in online casinos in Latvia. What’s more, you can expect a solid selection of bonuses and promotions, easy to use payment methods, and around the clock customer support.
As you read on, you will learn all about gambling in Latvia, including deposit and withdrawal fees, mobile casinos, our review process, and much more.
In early days, due to government restrictions on gambling, it was not popular at all among Latvians. However, soon after restoring its independence in 1990, gambling market in Latvia started flourishing. In 1991, the first Latvian land casino was opened.
However, as there was no government licensing body at the time, many of these establishments were operating in a gray market. 1994 saw many casino operators leave Latvia as the government tried to squeeze out massive tax revenue.
This turned for the better in 1998, when the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection body was formed. This regulatory body is in charge of licensing and regulating all gambling and lottery companies in the country.
This paved the way for many new casino brands to enter Latvia and generate excellent tax revenue for the government. This is why in 2006, 2013, 2015 and 2016 additional amendments to the Law on Lotteries and Gambling were made. Based on these amendments, Latvia has more than 60 land casinos and many similar betting establishments today.
As far as online gambling is concerned, it was officially legalized in 2003 and final regulations were completed by 2007. Those who seek to offer gambling services through the Internet must meet certain criteria in order to acquire a license. The most important rule is that operators must be at least 51% owned by Latvians, and have headquarters on Latvian soil.
The current state of the gambling industry in Latvia is in fact better than in most countries in the world. For such a small Baltic state, it is impressive that players can legally enjoy online games by top providers such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Big Time Gaming, and so forth.
If the country allows foreign operators to acquire a license by the Latvian government while still keeping their foreign headquarters, a significant market boom can be anticipated.
'Online casinos in Latvia' is one of the most searched terms in Latvia. There's no doubt the online casino industry in the country has grown exponentially in the last decade. However, in the last few years, the industry has been spiraling down.
For starters, online casino gambling is allowed in Latvia. But local casinos are highly regulated by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of Latvia, the primary gambling regulatory body in the northeastern European country. As of 2021, Latvia has ten retail casinos and thirteen registered/licensed online casinos. While local casinos are few, the government has no grip on the hundreds of international online casinos that accept Latvian gamblers.
Just before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the Latvian online gambling scene was blossoming. But strict regulations on taxes and withdrawal turnaround, plus the grappling effects of the pandemic, have led to a drop in gambling revenue. In a report by the Latvia Ministry of Finance, Latvia's gambling industry's revenue fell by 26% in the first six months of the pandemic.
This drop can be attributed to the loss of income due to the pandemic, but once the economy is back on its feet, forecasts show that the industry will boom once again.
Another trend that can be seen is mobile casino Latvia gaming. With the convenience of gambling while on the go, the mobile trend is here to stay. Check out the best mobile casino Latvian.
Gambling is completely legal in Latvia. This includes both online and offline forms of gambling.
The online gaming market isn’t exactly flourishing as in other European countries. This is because online casinos must be partnered with a land-based operator in order to legally accept Latvian customers. However, there is still a wide range of Internet gambling sites open to Latvian players.
To acquire an online casino license in Latvia, operators must have a capital value of at least €1,400,000 and the majority of shareholders must be Latvians. The country’s licensing and regulatory body is the Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection of Latvia.
Gambling licenses have no expiry date, and approval is sent within 90 days if all qualifying criteria are met. The operators are subject to yearly inspections, and must pay annual taxes for running a casino, gambling or bingo hall, and sports betting services.
To make sure you are playing at a legal online casino, check if the domain ends with .lv, and inspect their website to see licensing information.
The country has a long list of blacklisted casinos, which includes almost every operator that does not have a Latvian license. However, playing at foreign sites is still possible, and many Latvians do so on a daily basis, whether through VPNs or by playing at non-blacklisted sites.
As gambling in Latvia was prohibited up till late years of the previous century, Latvian casino players are now exploring the limitless options of Internet gambling and developing their preferences regarding games.
As such, players enjoy a wide variety of casino games, but also sports betting on football, basketball, tennis, and so forth.
The most popular casino games in Latvia are:
Latvian players can expect and will be showered in bonuses of all types at any Latvian online casino.
However, be careful not to consider bonuses as free money. Most promotions have terms of use that must be respected, otherwise you risk forfeiting your bonus cash and any winnings.
Read on to see the most popular bonus types available at Latvian Internet casinos.
Every online casino player is familiar with the welcome bonus. Casino sites use the welcome bonus as a promotional tool to attract new customers, thus they offer a valuable welcome bonus that will double or triple your bankroll up to a certain maximum amount.
Before claiming a welcome bonus, make sure to read the fine print. Taking a few moments of your time to read the wagering requirements, max cashout restrictions and eligible games can save you lots of headaches down the line.
If you like slots, then you will love free spins bonuses. They are extremely common among online casinos. Operators offer them as part of welcome bonuses, as standalone promos on a weekly basis, or during major holidays throughout the year. Make sure to check out the best free slots in Latvia.
No deposit bonuses are highly sought after among online casino players. They are rarely found, especially in Latvian-licensed online casinos, but they tend to appear from time to time.
There are no drawbacks to claiming a no deposit bonus. Of course, wagering requirements and other bonus terms must be respected. However, the most important bit of this bonus type is that you are not risking a cent of your own cash. It offers a great way of exploring a new casino and earning some extra cash in the process.
One of the reasons for the sporadic growth of the Latvian online casino industry is the flexible banking methods that allow gamblers to deposit and process withdrawals faster and securely.
Latvian casinos accept both fiat money currencies and cryptocurrency. When it comes to fiat money currency, most players use the euro, Latvia's official currency. However, there are also casinos with other currencies, including the US dollar, Canadian dollar, British pound, etc. As for cryptocurrencies, there are many bitcoin casinos in Latvia and a handful of others that accept the likes of ethereum, dogecoin, litecoin, Cardano, etc.
Latvian casinos have partnered with multiple online payment solutions to facilitate easy deposits and withdrawals to ensure that no Latvian is left out.
Players can deposit and withdraw funds via online money transfer solutions such as eWallets, credit cards, banks, and so on. Some e-Payment solutions available at Latvian casinos are:
When it comes to transaction turnaround, it all depends on the particular banking option. Most deposit and withdrawal methods offer instant deposits, while withdrawals take an average of a day if the player has verified their account.
Language is an important consideration when choosing the best online casinos to join.
Now that Latvian casinos target Latvian players, Latvian is the popular language at most casinos accepting Latvian players. There are many other languages available since not all gamblers in Latvia are comfortable with Latvian. Besides, most gambling is on offshore casinos that often have multilingual languages to cater to players from all the regions.
Other languages, besides Latvian, on Latvian casinos include English, German, Chinese, Indian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, Ukrainian, and Russian, to mention a few. The number of available languages varies from one casino to another.
While Latvian is the default language on most casinos in the country, players are free to switch to their preferred language at any time. The language menu is typically symbolized by a flag icon. For example, Latvian will be denoted by the Latvian flag icon, while the German flag will mark German.
When it comes to customer support, some casinos offer support in Latvian and the common international languages, while others will have Latvian-speaking customer service agents only.
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