Where Gambling Advertising May Lawfully Be Placed
The placement of advertising about gambling games, a totalizator, lotto, bingo or their organizers is a contractual decision that must be made within the strict framework of the Law on Advertising: the dissemination of such advertising in any form or by any means, including through an electronic communication network, is impermissible. The ban is universal — and the design of the contract is built precisely around the exceptions that the law names expressly.
There are four exceptions. One: the advertising is disseminated on the website on which the organization in a systemic-electronic form of gambling games and/or a totalizator is allowed. Two: the advertising is disseminated at the place of a sporting event or competition and/or at the place of activity of a sports organization and constitutes a condition in return for sponsorship. Three: the advertising is visually placed on the facility where the organization of gambling games, a totalizator, lotto and/or bingo is allowed. Four: the advertising is placed on the territory of an airport open for international traffic and/or at a border-customs checkpoint.
One Operator — One Sign of up to 10 Square Meters
The exception for placement on a facility is restricted by two measures. The first is area: the area of placement of this advertising does not exceed 10 square meters. The second is uniqueness: it must be the only advertisement about gambling games on that facility. The law confirms this with a separate rule as well: the placement of more than one sign containing information about gambling games is impermissible, and this sign must not exceed 10 square meters.
At the level of contract design this means: if you have a gaming facility on the territory of a sports club, the parameters of the sign must be written into the contract precisely within these two measures — otherwise the placement falls outside the exception and ends up in the scope of the ban.
Sponsorship — Only Visual Form on the Inner Perimeter
For sponsorship contracts the formal restriction is decisive: in return for the sponsorship of a sporting event, competition and/or the activity of a sports organization, the dissemination of advertising is allowed only in visual form, on the inner perimeter of the place of the event — the facility — by the placement of a banner and/or on the uniform of the players. Sponsorship must be the basis of the advertising — a condition in return.
In practice this determines the content of the sponsorship package: banners and uniforms — yes; outdoor billboards, broadcast placement or online campaigns — no. If elements beyond this boundary are written into the contract, the entire transaction falls under the risk of violating the law.
The Placement of Promotional Games
A separate regime concerns promotional games: the dissemination of advertising about such a game in any form or by any means is impermissible where the permit has been issued to an organizer of gambling games, a totalizator, lotto and/or bingo — except where the advertising is disseminated on a website on which systemic-electronic gaming is allowed, or only on the inner perimeter of the organization facility. When planning joint campaigns with retail brands, this boundary must be analyzed in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where may a sign be placed?
Visually — on the facility where the organization of gambling games, a totalizator, lotto and/or bingo is allowed, and also at an international airport or a border-customs checkpoint. The sign must not exceed 10 square meters and must be the only one on the facility.
Is placement at a sporting event possible?
Yes — but only in return for sponsorship and only in visual form, on the inner perimeter: by a banner and/or on the players' uniform. Other formats are prohibited.
Is online placement possible?
Only in one case — on a website on which the systemic-electronic organization of gambling games and/or a totalizator is allowed. All other electronic dissemination is prohibited.
How is the boundary of promotional game advertising determined?
Where the permit has been issued to an organizer of gambling or profitable games, such advertising is possible only on an allowed website or on the inner perimeter of the organization facility.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team designs sponsorship and advertising contracts within the exceptions of the law: we will determine which element may be lawfully placed where, and write the exact parameters into the contract.
Contact us through Legal.ge — we will align your advertising plan with the framework of the law at the contractual level.
In designing the contract we apply a simple rule: every advertising element that a party assembles in a new transaction is transferred into a table and linked to the corresponding point of the exceptions; whatever cannot be linked leaves the contract. This approach gives the parties a common precision of language and preempts future argument — because a violation of the law often hides precisely in vague formulations, and not in a known ban.
We pay particular attention to the conditions of the exceptions, which undergo changes over time: the consolidated edition of the law reflects the amendments introduced in the field, and a formulation that was sufficient in the past may no longer be so today. Therefore every new contract is built with verification against the current edition.