Upon the passing of the law on regulation and limitation of operation of gambling-houses the number of casinos and gambling-salons increased in Armenia. In the words of chief of the Custom Service of Armenia Yervand Zakharian, 11 casinos and 32 gambling-saloons are registered in the republic by now. Meanwhile, as of January 2003, there were 4 casinos and 18 gambling-saloons in Armenia. The Custom Service chief pointed out that within the initial four months of the current year the receipts in the state budget from the playing business made 130 million drams against 106 million drams within the same period last year.