During the first eleven months of 2009, the RoA Ministry of Finance has awarded 17 licenses to organize gaming operations for profit and 5 casino, or gaming parlor licenses. During the same period 37 gaming and 9 casino licenses had expired.

From January-November, 2009, 35 gaming, 1 casino and 1 lottery licenses were revoked and 24 gaming operators, 1 casino and 2 lottery operators were given official warnings. The Ministry of Finance also reports that over 14 million AMD in fines were issued against gaming operators and 7.7 million issued against casinos.

From January 1 to December 1, 2009, 1.08 billion AMD in taxes were collected from all such operations in Armenia. As of December 1, 2009, 97 gaming licenses, 11 casino licenses and 4 lottery licenses are in effect.

President Serzh Sargsyan today met with Lieutenant General Vladimir Streltsov, Deputy Head of Frontier Service of Russia, who introduced the new Head of the Frontier Department of the Russian Federal Security Service in Armenia, Viktor Vlasov.

President Sargsyan gave high marks to the ever deepening military cooperation between Armenia and Russia and attached importance to the continuation of efforts in that direction. President Sargsyan stated that the Frontier Service is one of the important factors of defense of our country’s border and one of the key components of joint Armenian-Russian relations. »»»»»

 The “Spyur Informational Center” reports that a new trilingual Armenian Yellow Pages mobile edition has been created for cell phone users.

The new directory, in Armenian, English and Russian, consists of over 2,700 organizations, can be accessed either by phone or regular internet. There is no fee for accessing the directory. For more information see “Armenian Yellow Pages”.

Two individuals have been arrested in a sting operation involving a marketing pyramid scam in Armenia. Raymond Kocharyan, a citizen of Iran, and Vatche Manukyan,  a citizen of the RoA, were picked up by the National Security Service after complaints were lodged by citizens against two companies operating in the country under the name of “Questnet”.

An investigation into the activities of the two companies, operating independently of one another, has revealed that some 113 Armenian citizens have been duped into paying $600-1,500 for a variety of merchandise through the internet. The pyramid marketing scheme was halted when buyers found out that they had actually paid many times more than the actual worth of the merchandise. »»»»»

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is reported to have stated that the recent referendum in Switzerland to ban the construction of minarets is “reminiscent of Europe’s religious intolerance” and warned that it could spark clashes on a global scale.

“The issue is too serious to be dealt with by mere statements,” Davutoglu told reporters on his way from Athens, where he attended an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, to Brussels late on Wednesday. “I am very concerned. We must take this issue very seriously. It is not something to be underestimated as an individual case.” »»»»»

The State Environmental Inspectorate of the Ministry of Nature Protection has reported that during the first nine months of 2009 there were 80 reported incidents of poaching in Armenia and that four of the cases lead to criminal charges.

Overall, seventy-one fines were meted out totalling 2.7 million AMD. In 54 cases, compensation totalling 10.5 million AMD was decreed. In all of 2008, some 102 of illegal poaching were registered and fines levied totalled 2.4 million AMD.