November 29: Approximately one-tenth of Latvia's adults gamble, the head of the Latvian gambling business association (LSBA), Girts Ludeks, said at an international conference on gambling supervision in Latvia and Europe. He cited a survey by the SKDS pollster that showed that one fifth of the Latvian population have visited gambling halls and casinos and gambled for money. Although 60 percent of the respondents, mostly elderly people, expressed negative attitudes toward gambling as a business, only one tenth of them said that the negative assessment is linked to personal experience.
November 20: The first Olympic Casino opened its doors in the Romanian capital Bucharest, the Olympic Entertainment Group announced. The casino was a former slot hall belonging to Romanian casino operator Empire International Game World, which was acquired by OEG in April for 60.2 million kroons (3.8 million euros). Modernization of the facility cost more than 15 million kroons (1 million euros) and it is equipped with 41 slot machines on 285 square meters of floor space. OEG plans to open another gaming hall under the Olympic Casino brand before the end of this year.
