"Fact" daily writes:
More than once, based on factual data, we have noted that despite the external veil and "publicity" that the authorities of the day actively use, gambling "businesses" in Armenia are flourishing more and more, spreading their tentacles and increasing the volume of inclusion.
You see, despite the fact that there were several legislative initiatives related to the restriction of the advertising of bookmaking companies, the use of the services of these companies and other "companion" phenomena, the fact is that the volumes of "gambling" turnover continued to grow.
At one time, the official information that 52 billion 777 million 837 thousand drams were bet in casinos and 5 trillion 774 billion 025 million 428 thousand drams in online winning games was made. No, just imagine: 5 trillion drams :
But let's note that it's 2022. And now it's the end of the year, 2025 is ahead. And if we keep in mind that after 2022, the only thing that has increased in Pashinyan Armenia, then the picture It will become more clear.
The question arises: how is the Pashinyan government fighting (allegedly, again) against this, sorry for the expression, sector, which is increasingly flourishing and expanding?
Although, from the beginning, it was obvious that these authorities would hardly fight against the so-called gambling business. They cannot cut the branch on which they are sitting. The other factor that makes it unlikely that the Pashinyan government is real the opportunity to fight, no matter how strange it sounds... is the economic indicators.
The fact is that the turnover in the mentioned "sector" allows to show some economic growth and increasing indicators. The authorities and their supporters are not particularly interested in the structure and content of these "growths".
Tadevos Avetisyan, a deputy of the "Armenia" faction of the parliament, a member of the Supreme Body of the ARF Armenia, also referred to this catastrophic situation in an article provided to the media, the title of which is telling in itself. "Gambling is the economic 'brand' of this government."
The MP specifically notes: "It can be said that the whole public was put on the hook for gambling. On the one hand, people's destinies are being destroyed, and on the other hand, all the possible benefits are being reaped and enjoyed by the ruling group of the day."
A simple example: participation in skyrocketing super profits by oligarchs in the form of large stakes, serving their narrow political insidious interests from these super profits.” But the issue is not only discretionary or even political assessments and perceptions.
"Dry" digital data and indicators regarding the state of the economy are much more impressive, if not alarming. the agricultural sector, after a prolonged decline, recorded near-zero growth in the first nine months of this year.
"Near-zero growth is common in the industry as well. Except for the previous few months, which was due to the re-export of Russian gold to the United Arab Emirates in unprecedented volumes," Tadevosyan added.
We have a significant decline in the field of information and communication, in the amount of 8.5 percent. The deepening crisis in the high-tech sector is more worrying, which is already expressed by a decline of about 13 percent. 41 percent, increasing by 5.3 percent, and with EU countries - only 7.2 percent, decreasing by 17 percent from the country In the first nine months of this year alone, foreign direct investment decreased by USD 334 million, and the negative net inflow of FDI amounted to USD 55 million.
In the context of all this, the continuous increase of the state debt attracts attention.
To remind: Nikol Pashinyan "took over" the country with a state debt of about 6 billion dollars, and now, that is, during his six and a half years in office, he "succeeded" in doubling that negative figure. Now the debt reaches almost 13 billion dollars, and the annual service volume exceeds it is $1 billion.
There is an impression that if the engine of Armenia's "economic life" is gambling and casinos, then the whole of Armenia is also the subject of Pashinyan and his government's "gambling".
There is no other way to explain such a doubling of the debt.
The opposition deputy also presents some facts of the skyrocketing gambling addiction, as he says, "bloody" statistics. only in January-September 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year, the growth of the sector of the organization of winning games was 10 percent, becoming 201 billion 582 million AMD or about 520 million US dollars, and about 2 million US dollars per day, and in 2023 the activity of casinos alone: compared to the previous year, it increased by an unprecedented amount - 2.7 times.
"By the way, the field of organizing virtual gambling and bookmaking activities received its biggest historical growth bonus in the year of the change of government.
In 2018, the volume of this sector increased by 46 percent compared to the previous year, bringing the turnover to 306 billion drams," writes Tadevos Avetisyan. Well, we already mentioned the trillions.
And if trillions are "burning", does someone, in this case, need them?
HARUTYUN GRIGORIAN
