Armenian Deputy Speaker Alen Simonyan Demands Public Apology

Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Alen Simonyan demands that representatives of the 'Goodwin' company publicly apologize for offending him. He made this statement on his Facebook page.

“Today, for making insulting statements against me and threatening me in front of the National Assembly, manipulating the media, blocking Baghramyan Avenue, causing discomfort to our citizens, displaying inappropriate behavior towards our police, and most importantly, distorting my words among dozens of people and spreading false information about me to mislead the public, the representatives of 'Goodwin,' as organizers, are obliged to apologize publicly,” stated Alen Simonyan.

In an interview, addressing the complaints from betting companies and his proposed legislative initiative, Simonyan noted, “The issue concerns the machines located near filling stations, where 'Goodwin-BET' has a monopoly. None of the other four companies operate with those machines. Their request is to extend the deadline, which I have significant reservations about. Let them make proposals, but our fellow citizens must continue to use gaming machines at various gas stations, which I consider a evil.”

Regarding the restrictions outlined in his proposed bill, he did not deny that the owner of 'Vivaro' is his friend, but emphasized that the project is more beneficial for 'AjaraBet,' which has no offices, while the proposal for 'Vivaro,' despite the owner being his friend, is not advantageous for them.

It should be noted that today, on May 29, morning, employees of betting companies were holding a protest in front of the Armenian National Assembly against a bill that would limit the operations of betting offices, which has been approved by the National Assembly's Economic Committee and sent for discussion.

Recall that the National Assembly’s Economic Committee has approved a bill aimed at tightening the conditions for organizing lotteries, developed as part of the fight against gambling. The bill proposes the removal of all betting offices from the city of Yerevan. If adopted, it will come into effect in November 2020.

The co-authors of the bill are Deputy Naira Zohrabyan ('Prosperous Armenia' faction), Deputy Speaker Alen Simonyan, and Deputy Sipan Pashinyan ('My Step' faction). According to the authors, the adoption of amendments to this bill is an important step in the fight against gambling.