The Legal Framework for a Foreign Group's Entry
For a foreign group, the analysis of the Georgian gambling market begins with the fundamental prohibition of the Law of Georgia on Organizing Lotteries, Gambling and Profitable Games: the conduct on the territory of Georgia of every type of gambling and/or profitable game, as well as the supply of gambling and/or profitable games, requires a permit in accordance with the Law on Licenses and Permits. Conduct or supply without a permit, as well as non-fulfillment of permit conditions, is considered a violation of the law and entails liability determined by legislation. Only the organization of games envisaged by this law and the distribution of their tickets is admissible.
Within this framework, the group's structural decisions are assessed in two directions: first, which entity will be the permit holder and how it will satisfy the permit requirements, and second, how the group's technological and financial resources — which the law treats as essential products/services — will be placed. Both questions are answered from the conceptual apparatus of the law, so a precise reading of the concepts before structuring is indispensable.