The Criteria: Three Layers, One Decision
“Georgia or a foreign jurisdiction” is not one question in the gambling business — it is a bundle of three distinct decisions: where your operating company sits, where the gaming product is licensed, and who owns the structure from the Georgian side. A sound comparison rests on four criteria: the target market and lawful access to it; the full cost of licensing — fees, capital requirements and substance; the availability and speed of the regime; and the function of the licence — market entry, or a credibility document for international partners (banks, payment processors, suppliers).
Every figure on this page is anchored in the official sources of the jurisdiction concerned — the regulators' own published materials. Where no official figure exists, that is said outright: the remaining details must be confirmed with the regulator. The Georgian layer rests exclusively on Georgian legislation — a foreign licence never substitutes for access to the Georgian market.
Georgia: the Domestic Regime and Its Price
For the Georgian market the answer is unambiguous. Under the Georgian Law on Organising Lotteries, Gambling and Profitable Games, conducting any type of gambling or profitable game on the territory of Georgia, and supplying games into Georgia, requires a permit (Article 5), and that permit is issued only to an entrepreneur registered in Georgia (Article 11(2)). The law enumerates twelve permit categories — from organising a casino and system-electronic organisation to the supply of gambling games — and one system-electronic permit covers no more than 2 internet-domain websites.
The tax profile of the Georgian structure is equally defined. Under Article 80(7) of the Tax Code, the taxable object of a natural person deriving income from organising a slots hall and/or system-electronic gambling is the difference between the stakes received from players and the winnings paid out; such income is taxed at 20 percent, while income from foreign citizens' participation in system-electronic organisation is taxed at 5 percent (Article 81). The Civil Code adds an important layer: under Article 952, a lottery contract or similar games create obligations only where the game is state-permitted — so playing with a licensed Georgian operator and playing on a foreign unlicensed platform are legally different realities (Article 951: as a general rule, a claim does not arise from a game or wager).
The Premium and Middle Tier: Malta, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Kahnawake
Malta (MGA) sets the benchmark price of European premium licensing: an application fee of €5,000; a fixed annual B2C licence fee of €25,000 (Type 4 only: €10,000); a B2B annual fee of €25,000-€35,000 by annual revenue, or €3,000-€5,000 for the Back-Office form; a monthly compliance contribution with per-type minima — from €15,000 for Type 1, €25,000 for Type 2, €25,000 for Type 3 and €5,000 for Type 4 (maxima up to €375,000 for Type 1, €600,000 for Type 2 and €500,000 for Types 3 and 4); gaming tax of 5 percent of gaming revenue; minimum share capital of €100,000 for Type 1/2 and €40,000 for Type 3/4, cumulative up to €240,000; and a licence valid 10 years. One structural condition matters for Georgian groups: an application to the MGA can be made only through an entity incorporated in the EU/EEA.
Gibraltar switched to a new regime in 2026: the Gambling Act 2025 is in force since 1 April 2026 and the 2005 Act is repealed. Licence holders under the 2005 Act are deemed licensed under the new one, while a six-month transition window from commencement — roughly until 1 October 2026 — applied for the new categories. The new scope is broad: B2C for gambling businesses managed or controlled in or from Gibraltar; B2B supplies from or to Gibraltar; regulated individuals; gambling marketing conducted from Gibraltar; and persons holding more than a 25 percent share in a relevant company. The Isle of Man (GSC) operates under OGRA 2001: an application fee of £5,250 for every type; annual fees of £36,750 (Full), £5,250 (Sub-Licence), £52,500 (Network Services), £36,750 (Software Supplier) and £52,500 (Token/Blockchain-Based); substance is strict — a Manx company, at least 2 Isle-of-Man-resident directors, a designated official on the island, servers in the Isle of Man and segregated player-fund accounts in an IoM bank; the GSC explicitly reserves the right to reject “brass plate” operations. In Kahnawake, the practical entry route is a Client Provider Authorization — a $35,000 application fee and a $20,000 annual fee — appended to the single Interactive Gaming Licence, whose holder shares responsibility for the client's breaches; from 1 January 2027 the CPA application fee rises to $40,000.