Republic of Georgia Gambling License

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Gambling has been available to people many years ago, whether legally or illegally. And while some countries have still not legalized gambling, others have implemented proper laws, rules and conditions for players and operators equally. They have regulated gambling and today, they have control over which gambling activities are allowed and which not, which players can access gambling facilities, offline or online, and how operators should organize their business and run it.

But to get to that stage, countries usually go through many law changes and it takes years to get complete control over the gambling industry. Such is the case with the Republic of Georgia. While it took a while for the country to legalize gambling, recent history shows that things were not quite finished by 2014. To get you to the information on gambling regulations in Georgia today, we have to take your through its history briefly.

Recent History of Gambling in Georgia

While the gambling business in Georgia was officially legalized in 1990, the actual process of establishing the right rules and laws lasted for quite some time. In fact, it was in 2000 that the authority finally adopted a variety of regulations and laws to specify the general rules of gambling in the republic.

In 2014, the first debates in parliament appeared regarding interactive gambling legislation, which would include taxation and licensing for both Georgian and offshore operators. However, this never materialized, but towards the end of the same year, something else happened. In November, Firich Enterprises Co Ltd, a Georgian company entered into an agreement with MelcoLot Ltd company to help open a land-based facility in Georgia.

The Governement of The Republic of Georgia is in Control
The Governement of The Republic of Georgia is in Control
That company was controlled by Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, so the deal was for Firich to get 31.6% of the shares and Melco 42.7% of the shares of the new Express Wealth Management company. MelcoLot Ltd planned to get $50 million through the sale, and once completed, the new company would apply for a 15-year license to operate in Georgia, starting from 2016. Melco eventually dropped the plans after failing to agree on lease terms.

Around September 2017, the Government started considering prohibiting interactive gambling. In the same time, it was developing brand new gambling regulations. Legislators were divided on the proposals, so the Government never went through with the prohibition.

In 2018, the Government started drafting legislation that would restrict gambling advertising and prohibit Georgian bankcards owners from registering with offshore operators. The drafted legislation suggested prohibiting gambling advertising on TV, the internet, radio and all other non-sponsorship methods of communication. Around the same time, many other regulated markets were considering the same thing. However, Georgia really took some steps forward.

Towards the end of 2019, the Georgian Public Broadcasting, the national public television broadcaster, who operates the First Channel and the Second Channel, announced a ban on gambling ads on its First Channel, to come into effect on 1 January 2020. It was not clarified whether the ban would apply to the Second Channel, as well.

Types of Licenses and Application Process

Even though interactive gambling is legal and regulated in Georgia, to apply for a license to offer online gambling, an operator must hold a land-based license. The taxation for interactive betting is 5% (of the GGR), while online games of chance 15%.

The Ministry of Finance, more precisely the Revenue Service, is the one that controls and taxes gambling operators. The permits that the Revenue Service has the authority to issue are

  • To organize bingo
  • To organize gaming machines salon
  • To organize a promotional drawing game
  • To organize casino
  • To organize a betting house
  • To organize a gaming club
  • To organize lottery

To obtain a permit, an applicant must submit copies of required documents via Revenue Service’s website. Different documents are required depending on the permit operators apply for. An extract of the Public Registry and a document guaranteeing the payment of the fee for the permit are obligatory.

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Finally

But mainly, applicants should provide information on: the date and place of organizing gambling business, list of the types of games to be offered, minimal and maximum stakes on those games and samples of gaming tokens.

Those that also want to run an online gambling site should additionally state the actual (official) address for management and organisation of games and the name, address, phone number, permit number of the person in charge, detailed game rules and information on responsible gambling, web address, rules for player’s registration, and the terms and conditions of the online gambling website. As for fees, the annual permit fee is 5,000,000 GEL which is approximately $1,675,000.

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