The gaming business in Georgia is one of the most strictly regulated spheres: from the issuance of permits to electronic control, the entire system is established by the Law of Georgia on Lotteries, Gambling and Other Profitable Games and is built on state institutional mechanisms. On this page we explain the fundamental blocks of gaming business law — the permit regime, the issuing authority, the rules of inspection, fines, the lists of dependent and prohibited persons, and the electronic control system. Legal.ge provides dedicated assistance in the practical application of these regulations.
The general permit rule in the gaming business
The first paragraph of the fifth article of the law establishes: on the territory of Georgia, the conduct of all kinds of gambling and/or profitable games, their organization in systematic-electronic form, and the supply of gambling and/or profitable games require a permit in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Licenses and Permits. Activity without a permit and non-fulfillment of permit conditions are considered violations of the law and entail liability.
The same article defines the permissible forms of activity: on the territory of Georgia only the organization of the lottery, gambling and/or profitable games contemplated by this law, their organization in systematic-electronic form and the distribution of their tickets are allowed. State protective intervention also begins here: it is prohibited to use tobacco products in incentive games aimed at their fast sale, and the transfer of incentive games to a state agency falls within the competence of the Government.
The issuing authority: the Revenue Service and the permit registry
The first paragraph of the seventh article identifies the issuing authority: the issuance of permits for organizing gambling and/or profitable games, for their systematic-electronic organization and for the supply of games, the introduction of amendments into them, their cancellation and the entry of the relevant data into the departmental permit registry are carried out by the Revenue Service in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Licenses and Permits and with this law.
The Revenue Service is empowered to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted by the permit seeker and their compliance with the relevant requirements of the law — including, additionally, in the case of the organization of a casino. This means that at the application stage the documentation must already be authentic and complete; otherwise the process stalls.
Inspections: at any time, without quantitative limitation
The Revenue Service is empowered to impose control over the fulfillment of permit conditions. For this purpose, during a calendar year, at any time and without quantitative limitation, the state of fulfillment by the permit holder of the requirements established by this law and by other normative acts may be inspected. The procedure of inspection is established by a joint order of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
The control system is complemented by the thirty-sixth article: the Ministry of Finance of Georgia is obliged to impose control over compliance with the requirements of every point of this law and of the rules of the game (the regulations). For an organizer, such multi-level supervision means that compliance is not a one-off event but a permanent operational discipline.