The Conceptual Foundation of the Gambling Club
The gambling club is a separate, specialised form of gambling business, and understanding it begins with two concepts. Article 3 of the law defines the club table — a specially equipped table on which a game proceeds between players by means of bankque (cards); the cards in the game may be dealt by a representative of the organiser of the gambling game as well. The gambling club, in turn, is a specially equipped building or part of one where the organiser conducts bankque games through a club table or tables — the classic poker-club format fits this definition exactly.
The same article contains the concept of the gambling tournament: a game conducted by the holder of a casino and/or gambling club permit through a club table. One significant restriction also sits here: where the holder of a casino permit uses a club table only for a gambling tournament and does not pay the gaming business fee established for the club table, it has no right to receive income from conducting the tournament. The tournament may be organised both on the object organised under the permit and outside it.
The Exceptional Permit Regime
Article 11 includes the organisation of a gambling club as a separate sub-item on the list of activities subject to permitting, but one of the paragraphs of the same article places this permit in a special frame: a permit for organising a gambling club is issued only in the municipality of the city of Tbilisi, to the holder of a permit for organising a casino and/or a gaming machine hall. Moreover, the gambling club must be arranged independently of the casino hall and/or the gaming machine hall, as a separate object.
Two practical consequences follow. First: opening a poker club is possible only for someone who already holds a casino or gaming machine hall permit — an independent start-up company cannot enter this market directly. Second: the club permit is tied to the base permit, and its validity is determined by the remaining term of the permit on whose basis it was issued; the termination of the base permit annuls the club permit as well. Under the general rule, a permit under this article is issued only to an entrepreneur registered in Georgia.
The Application Documentation
Article 19-1 regulates special documentation for the gambling club permit. The central document is the organisation conditions (the regulations), which must indicate: the list of the club’s tables — each table’s name, factory number, year of manufacture and country of manufacture; the amount of the service percentage or commission on the club table; the rules of operation of the club; the rules of conduct in the club; the rules of the games conducted; and samples of gaming tokens, where they exist. If the permit seeker uses essential products supplied by another person, the regulations must indicate the number of that person’s valid supply permit.
The documentation is completed by the authorisation certificate and a copy of the contract concluded with the supplier; where that contract is amended, the permit holder must notify the Revenue Service within 2 days of the change and submit a copy of the amendment document. The final rule of the article is categorical: it is prohibited to conduct in a gambling club a game that is not provided for by the regulations — the frame of the games is fixed at the level of the document, and going beyond it is a violation.
Location and Subsequent Changes
Article 21 applies to the club as well: where the location of a gambling club changes, the organiser submits to the Revenue Service the new organisation conditions (the regulations). Changes to the rules of the current games, the lists and the descriptions are implemented with the Service’s consent; for other changes information is provided no later than 1 day in advance. The requirement to arrange the club as a separate object means it cannot be placed inside the casino hall or the machine hall — physical separation is a condition of lawfulness.
The interdependence of the base and club permits also creates a management specificity: reorganisation, relocation or a status change of the base object is directly reflected on the club, and accounting for this chain must be part of the calendar planning of both permits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can open a poker club?
Only the holder of a casino and/or gaming machine hall permit, and only in the Tbilisi municipality; the club is arranged as a separate object.
What happens to the club permit’s term?
It operates for the remaining term of the permit on whose basis it was issued; annulment of the base permit annuls the club permit as well.
What must the regulations contain?
The list of tables with factory numbers and country of manufacture, the commission amount, the rules of operation and conduct, the rules of the games and samples of tokens; conducting a game outside the regulations is prohibited.
How is a change to the supplier contract handled?
The Revenue Service is notified within 2 days of the change, with a copy of the amendment document submitted.
How We Help on Legal.ge
We will assess your capacity in the club permit regime, prepare the regulations from the list of tables to the commission rules, safeguard the notifications of supplier-contract changes, and plan the calendar of the base and club permits. Contact us on Legal.ge — club licensing belongs to those cases where structure precedes document.