Sports betting as a legal category
In Georgian law a sports bet is not a private contract — it falls within the legal regime of the totalizator, one of the types of profitable games. Under the statutory definition, the totalizator is a game conducted through players placing bets on the forecast of the outcome of a competition, a game or an event, the winnings depending on the size of the bet and the outcome. In sports betting this forecast concerns sporting results, but the legal construction is general. The interests of totalizator players are additionally secured through the prize fund, confirmed by a bank guarantee or an insurance policy.
One detail also matters: it is prohibited to organize a totalizator in cases where the result may be known in advance to one or both parties. This norm guarantees the fairness of the game and addresses the risks created by match-fixing.
Organizer obligations for player protection
The law imposes on the organizer of a totalizator a whole set of duties: to ensure public order and safety at the place where the games are held, as well as the protection of the lawful rights and interests of players and other persons; register the winnings paid out, create an electronic database and submit the relevant information to the Financial Monitoring Service; conduct the game and pay winnings in accordance with the submitted conditions of the event or the rules of the systematically-electronically organized game.
Especially significant for the player: upon request the organizer must give a written certificate of receipt of winnings; a decision on a player’s complaint must be taken within the period provided by the conditions; data on amounts won or lost by a player must be kept secret, with information released only in cases provided by law; and no additional conditions may be demanded of a winning player when paying out winnings, save for cases provided by the legislation. A player must likewise not be allowed to transfer funds to the gaming accounts of another player.
A separate prohibition protects the player’s financial independence: the organizer may not lend money to a player for placing a bet. The organizer must also pay in good time the statutory fees and taxes and notify the Revenue Service in writing before ceasing the activity. Video control serves the same goal: in the gaming hall, at the cashier and at the entrance, video recording must run during the entire working period of the totalizator, and the recordings must be kept for no less than 30 days and submitted to authorized bodies upon substantiated request.