Protesting bookmakers open central Yerevan avenue
Numerous employees of bookmaker companies protesting outside the National Assembly building in Yerevan have opened Marshal Baghramyan Avenue they had closed off earlier on Wednesday.
Five protesters are negotiating with Chairman of the parliament’s Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Babken Tunyan at the moment.
The demonstrators said they will not stop the protest action until they find out the outcomes of the talks.
The protest comes days after the committee passed a bill proposing to ban the activities of all bookmaker offices in Armenia from November 2020 in an effort to crack down on gambling in the country.
The demonstrators argue the shutdown of bookmakers will leave some 1,500 people unemployed and will create favorable conditions for the activities of online betting sites.