Fee Planning: Where It Begins
The financial model of every gambling project carries two payment burdens: one upfront, the permit fee, and one ongoing, the gambling business fee. This page discusses the latter, regulated by the Law of Georgia on the Gambling Business Fee, whose correct planning proceeds by types of activity. The amount of the fee depends directly on the types of permits under which the operator works and on how many taxation objects it has placed.
The initial question of planning is always the same: who is the payer of this fee and which objects are taxed. The law determines both precisely, and it is from the reconciliation of these two lists that the fee budget of a project is born.
Who Is the Payer and the Systemic-Electronic Peculiarity
Under the third article of the law, the payers of the gambling business fee are persons engaged in entrepreneurial activity by means of lotteries, gambling and profitable games, where such activity is subject to permit regulation in accordance with the legislation. The same article separately defines the lottery organizer as a payer.
Particular attention is devoted to systemic-electronic permits: excluded from the circle of payers are holders of a permit for organizing casino games in a systemic-electronic form and/or a permit for organizing slot machine games in a systemic-electronic form, where such permit has not been issued on the basis of a permit for organizing a casino and/or a permit for organizing a slot machine hall. In practice this means that the holder of a systemic-electronic permit issued on such a basis avoids the general payer regime of this fee — in planning, this difference must be taken into account separately.
The List of Taxation Objects
The fourth article of the law determines what is taxed: the casino table, the club table and the slot machine; the prize fund of a promotional game; casino, slot machine and totalizator games organized in a systemic-electronic form on the basis of the corresponding permit; the difference between the total value of lottery tickets sold and the prize fund; and also a cash desk of systemically-electronically organized games placed outside the facility organized on the basis of a permit.
This structure of objects means that the fee budget begins with the placement plan: the number of tables, machines, online activity and cash desks is counted separately, and each individual unit creates a separate tax burden.
The Complete Rate Table
The fifth article of the law establishes the rates by type and relies on quarterly periodicity: for each casino table — from 20 000 to 40 000 lari per quarter inclusive; for each slot machine — from 2 000 to 4 000 lari per quarter inclusive; for each promotional game — 10 % of the prize fund.
- for casino games organized in a systemic-electronic form — from 250 000 to 300 000 lari per quarter inclusive;
- for slot machine games organized in a systemic-electronic form — from 250 000 to 300 000 lari per quarter inclusive;
- for totalizator games organized in a systemic-electronic form — from 250 000 to 300 000 lari per quarter inclusive;
- for organizing lotteries — 10 % of the difference between the total value of tickets sold and the prize fund;
- for each cash desk of a systemically-electronically organized game — from 1 500 to 20 000 lari per quarter inclusive;
- for each club table — from 4 000 to 14 000 lari per quarter inclusive.
The law also contains a note: where the holder of a casino organization permit uses a club table only for holding a gambling tournament, it is entitled not to pay the fee established for the club table. Within the ranges, the concrete rate is the rate in force in the territory of the actual placement of the object, so before final figures the verification of the local decision is indispensable.
Reporting and the Payment Mechanics
The payment procedure is established by the sixth article of the law. The organizer of a promotional game pays the fee before the start of the stage, in the amount of 10 percent of the prize fund of the stage. Other organizers pay the fee upon acquiring the fee payment mark — before the start of the reporting quarter, at the rate in force in the territory where the taxation object is physically placed.
The payment mark is a mark issued electronically which confirms the payment of the fee and the right to hold the corresponding object; it contains the numbering field assigned by types of objects and the taxation period. The lottery organizer pays the fee into the state budget quarterly, no later than the 15th day of the month following the reporting quarter. The administrative details of acquiring and closing marks fall within the competence of the minister of finance — the practical steps are thus established by subordinate acts and require verification with the regulator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the payer of the gambling business fee?
Persons engaged in entrepreneurial activity by means of lotteries, gambling and profitable games subject to permit regulation, and the lottery organizer. Holders of systemic-electronic permits issued on the basis of another permit stand outside this regime.
How much is the fee for a casino table?
From 20 000 to 40 000 lari per quarter inclusive, for a club table — from 4 000 to 14 000 lari, for a slot machine — from 2 000 to 4 000 lari. The concrete rate is the rate in force in the territory of placement.
When and how is the fee paid?
A promotional game organizer pays before the start of the stage — 10 percent of the prize fund; the others pay upon acquiring the payment mark before the start of the reporting quarter; the lottery organizer quarterly, no later than the 15th day of the following month.
What is the payment mark?
A mark issued electronically confirming the payment of the fee and the right to hold the object. The mark contains the numbering field and the taxation period, and the rules for acquiring it are established by the minister of finance.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team will help you plan the fee by types of your activity: we will recalculate the burden of the planned objects using the ranges of the law, examine the peculiarities of systemic-electronic permits and prepare a payment calendar.
Contact us through Legal.ge — our analysis will help your financial model avoid fee-related errors.