Latvia, Markets and Companies, Real Estate

The committee at an extraordinary meeting voted unanimously in support of the city council's draft resolution aimed at fulfilling a separate decision by the Supreme Court in the case about a permission to open a gambling hall in Riga and the regulations about the city's historical center.

The committee chairman, Dainis Turlais, said during the meeting that during its last two four-year terms the Riga City Council had not granted any permissions for opening new gambling halls not only in the historical center but the entire city. The gambling operators have complained to the court with different results.

Now he said he welcomed the separate decision by the Supreme Court which encouraged the local council not just to keep refusing to issue new permissions but also to close some of the existing gambling halls. Turlais also voiced hope that other courts would take into account the Supreme Court ruling in question.

The ban on gambling in the city's historical center will take effect upon its adoption at the Riga City Council meeting on May 23.