The Legal Basis of the Casino Permit
Under the Georgian Law on Gambling Games, the conduct of any type of gambling and/or profit-making game, the organization of such games in systemic-electronic form, and the supply of gambling and/or profit-making games all require a permit issued in accordance with the Georgian Law on Licenses and Permits. Article 5 of the law permits only the organization of lotteries, gambling and/or profit-making games expressly envisaged by that law, together with the distribution of their tickets. Conducting these activities without a permit, or failing to observe permit conditions, constitutes a violation of the law and triggers the liability defined by Georgian legislation. You should also note the sectoral prohibitions embedded in the same provision: issuing a permit for promotional games aimed at the rapid and effective sale of tobacco products, tobacco accessories and/or devices intended for tobacco consumption is prohibited, and using such products as prizes in promotional games or lotteries, or distributing them through lotteries, gambling and profit-making games, is likewise banned. In addition, persons registered in Georgia, whether natural or legal, may not organize the games envisaged by this law on any type of floating object located in the internal maritime waters or the territorial sea of Georgia.
The Issuing Authority and the Control Regime
Under Article 7 of the law, the Revenue Service issues permits for organizing gambling and profit-making games, amends and revokes them, and enters the relevant data into the sectoral permit registry. The Revenue Service is authorized to verify the reliability of the documents submitted by the permit applicant and their compliance with the requirements of the law and, in the case of a casino, additionally with the technical requirements established for casinos by the same law. Control over the observance of permit conditions may be imposed at any time during a calendar year and without any quantitative limitation; the inspection procedure is established by a joint order of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Internal Affairs. For control purposes the Revenue Service may, through a selected person, introduce an electronic control system and monitor compliance with permit conditions both within inspections and in ongoing mode, including retroactively for the period of a currently valid permit once a violation is detected. Fines for breach of permit conditions are imposed by the Revenue Service or by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the administration of these fines follows the rules of the Georgian Tax Code. As the permit holder you must pay the fine within 30 calendar days from the delivery of the individual administrative-legal act imposing it. The Revenue Service also maintains the list of dependent persons and the list of prohibited persons; data in the list of dependent persons are entered for a term of 5 years, on the basis of the person's own application or a judge's order, and only data concerning Georgian citizens may be entered.
The Casino Permit Application and Its Documents
Article 19 of the law sets out an expanded documentary package for a casino permit. Beyond the standard documents required by the Law on Licenses and Permits, the applicant must submit to the Revenue Service the casino operating conditions, the regulation, which must specify: the list of casino tables and/or club tables, indicating each table's name, factory number, year of manufacture, country of manufacture and manufacturer; the minimum and maximum bets on each casino table; where club tables exist, the amount of the service commission on each of them; the full list of games conducted in the casino and their detailed rules; the casino's working hours and rules together with the rules of conduct on the premises; the deadline and place for paying out winnings; and the procedure and time limit for reviewing claims, which may not exceed 30 calendar days from the emergence of the claim. The application is accompanied by samples of gaming chips on which the denomination, ornament and color must be clearly visible; a certificate on the criminal record of the applicant's managerial and representative persons, founders/partners and beneficial owners, issued by the competent authority of the country of citizenship; a document confirming the origin of the funds needed to pay the permit fee, for whose accuracy the applicant is responsible; an authorization certificate confirming the conformity of the essential products/services used with the standards established by the Minister of Finance; and, where products supplied by another person are used, a copy of the contract with that supplier and the number of their valid supply permit. Any change to that contract must be reported to the Revenue Service no later than 2 days after its implementation, together with a copy of the amendment document. A casino permit may not be issued to a person whose managerial or representative officer, founder/partner or beneficial owner has been convicted or found guilty of an intentional economic crime, including in the sphere of financial activity, or of an intentional serious or especially serious crime, unless the conviction has been removed or extinguished.
The Application for Systemic-Electronic Organization
For a permit to organize casino games in systemic-electronic form, the applicant submits the rules of the systemically-electronically organized game, which must indicate the actual address in Georgia from which the game is managed and organized, as well as the location of the server infrastructure in Georgia; the list and description of the games; the procedure, place and bounded time limit for paying out winnings; the procedure and time limit for reviewing claims; and, where the game is organized via the internet, the website address, the player registration procedure and the rules for managing the deposit or balance. The website must display, in Georgian, the organizer's name, legal address, telephone number, permit number, the list of games, the detailed rules, and information on the prohibition of participation by Georgian citizens under 25 years of age, foreign citizens or stateless persons under 18 years of age, and persons included in the list of dependent persons and the list of prohibited persons. For an international organization permit, the same information must appear on the website in both Georgian and English, and participation by Georgian citizens is not allowed. The application further includes an authorization certificate confirming conformity with the technical standards of the organized game, the technical documentation of the game management system, and the form and procedure for player registration, identification and verification, together with the rules for storing player personal data, the list of platform protection mechanisms and the description of financial transaction accounting.
Prohibited Locations
Article 35 of the law prohibits the organization of lotteries, gambling and profit-making games, except promotional games, and the sale or distribution of their tickets, in children's, medical and educational institutions, cult buildings, children's sanatoriums, libraries, museums, and administrative buildings of state government and municipal bodies, as well as in locations prohibited by decision of the relevant municipal body, whether territorial zones or buildings. The relevant municipal body is authorized to define the locations where gambling and profit-making games, other than promotional games, may be organized, excluding the protected categories listed above. Verifying these boundaries is an essential step when choosing the site of a casino or any other gaming facility.
Fines for Breach of Permit Conditions
Article 37-1 of the law differentiates fines by permit type on the basis of the sanction framework of the Law on Licenses and Permits. For the holder of a casino organization permit the fine is 20 000 GEL. The same 20 000 GEL level applies to holders of permits for the systemic-electronic organization of casino games, gaming machine games and totalizator games, including where the deadline for paying the permit fee is breached, and to holders of permits for the international systemic-electronic organization of those games. For holders of a totalizator organization permit, a gambling club organization permit, and a permit for the supply of gambling and/or profit-making games the fine is 10 000 GEL, likewise 10 000 GEL where the fee payment deadline is breached; for slot machine hall permit holders a late fee payment attracts 10 000 GEL. For lotto and bingo organization permit holders a breached fee payment deadline attracts a fine of 2 000 GEL, and for the holder of a promotional games permit the fine is 1000 GEL. For the remaining categories of organization permits the law distributes levels between 1 000 and 10 000 GEL. The administration of these fines is carried out under the rules of the Tax Code, and the payment deadline of 30 calendar days runs from the delivery of the imposing act.