The Specifics of Administrative Cases in the Gambling Sector
The gambling business operates in a permanent zone of administrative pressure: the Revenue Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs monitor compliance with permit conditions, and violations trigger liability. Article 37 of the Law of Georgia on Organising Lotteries, Gambling and Promotional Games establishes that liability for violation of this law is determined by the legislation of Georgia, and it is within this framework that administrative cases in the sector are initiated and heard. Defending such a case rests on two directions: the substantive norm — whether a specific requirement was actually violated — and the procedural form, which is governed by the legislation on administrative offences and is an independent subject of review.
Under the same article, the non-fulfilment of the requirements established by the law by organisers of gambling or promotional games and by suppliers of gambling games constitutes a violation of permit conditions and entails liability under the procedure established by the Law of Georgia on Licences and Permits. The forgery of lottery tickets or of other documents confirming participation in promotional games is likewise punishable under Georgian legislation. This means that one and the same factual situation may require different qualifications, and the correctness of that qualification often determines the outcome of the entire case.
Control over the Holder of the Exclusive Lottery Right
Article 37-2 of the law defines control over the person that has won the tender organised by the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and holds the exclusive right to organise and conduct lotteries. The Revenue Service is authorised to impose control over the fulfilment by that person of the conditions determined by the contract. For this purpose, the state of fulfilment of the conditions determined by the law, by other normative acts and by the contract concluded with the Ministry of Finance may be inspected at any time; the inspection procedure is determined by a normative act of the Minister of Finance.
The lottery organiser also bears an additional statutory duty: it must ensure the provision to the Revenue Service of the information necessary for carrying out control. In practice this means that control must be met with complete and timely operational data, and the failure to provide information itself becomes a pretext for assessing a violation.
Unauthorised Lottery Organisation and the Fines
The strictest sanction norms concern the organisation of lotteries without authority. Under Article 37-2, the organisation and/or conduct of a lottery by an unauthorised person entails a fine of GEL 50000, while every subsequent organisation and/or conduct of a lottery by the unauthorised person entails a fine of GEL 150000. This is a sanction that escalates automatically upon a repeated fact, which is why the response to the very first instance is decisive.
Note that “organisation” and “conduct” appear in the text of the law as distinct concepts: the sanction extends to both forms, so even merely technical participation in the carrying out of a lottery does not exempt a person from liability. At the same time, the forgery of tickets or of documents confirming participation requires a separate assessment and is punishable under the relevant legislation.
The Fining Procedure and the Course of the Case
Article 37-3 establishes that an unauthorised person is fined for these actions by the Revenue Service, while the procedure and conditions for detecting the organisation and/or conduct of a lottery by an unauthorised person and for fining it are determined by an order of the Minister of Finance of Georgia. Thus the case instruments — how a fact is detected, in what form it is recorded, and how the fine is imposed — are determined precisely by that order, and verifying compliance with this procedure in the case file is a standard element of the defence.
As for the general procedure for hearing and appealing the case, it is regulated by the legislation in the field of administrative offences: the person has the right to give explanations of the facts, to submit its own evidence and to appeal a decision adopted in the established manner. At this stage it is important to observe every deadline and to insist that the culpability of the offender, the existence of the violation and the proportionality of the sanction be established through the procedure prescribed by law — otherwise the decision is subject to challenge. The specific powers and deadlines at each stage of the case are determined by the relevant legislation.
Defence Strategy in an Administrative Case
Defence in an administrative case of the gambling sector begins with checking the qualification: whether the person is in fact an organiser or supplier, whether the violation truly amounts to a breach of permit conditions, and whether the facts do not fall into the regime of the exclusive lottery right, where the fine moves from GEL 50000 to GEL 150000 depending on repetition. Then comes the factual part — the lawfulness of the detection procedure, formal inaccuracies of recording and the sufficiency of the evidence.
A separate direction is managing the level of the sanction: if a fact is proven, the exact calculation of the repeat qualification matters, because it determines whether the fine is imposed as GEL 50000 or GEL 150000. And finally the appeal stage, where the quality of the defence frequently decides the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fine for organising a lottery without authority?
For a first fact the fine is GEL 50000, and for every subsequent organisation and/or conduct it is GEL 150000. The fining is carried out by the Revenue Service.
Who controls the holder of the exclusive lottery right?
The Revenue Service monitors the fulfilment of the contractual obligations assumed by the tender winner, and the lottery organiser is also obliged to provide it with the information needed for control.
How is unauthorised lottery organisation detected and fined?
The procedure and conditions for detection and fining are determined by an order of the Minister of Finance, while the general procedure for hearing and appealing the case is set by the administrative offences legislation.
What does the qualification of non-fulfilment of requirements mean?
The non-fulfilment of statutory requirements by organisers and suppliers is treated as a violation of permit conditions and entails liability under the procedure established by the Law on Licences and Permits.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team assists in administrative cases of the gambling sector from initial assessment to appeal: we verify the qualification and the lawfulness of the detection procedure, assess the amount of the fine and the risk of repetition, and prepare explanations and complaints. Contact us on Legal.ge as soon as the problem takes shape — early involvement changes the outcome significantly.