The Nature of the Permit Fee
Budgeting a gambling project begins with the one-time payment that a permit seeker pays to the state for the right to commence the activity. Under the second article of the Law of Georgia on License and Permit Fees, a license/permit fee is a one-time mandatory payment into the central budget of Georgia or into the budget of the respective autonomous republic (where the permit is issued by the government organ of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara or Abkhazia), paid by the license/permit seeker in the amount established by law.
An important exception to this one-time character concerns gambling permits: it is precisely for them that the law allows annual payment, which means that a gambling operator's fee planning must be built not on the logic of a one-off expense but on the logic of a multi-year tax burden.
Rates for Gambling Permits
The seventh article of the law establishes the rates by type of activity. For permits for organizing gambling and profitable games the following is determined: organizing a promotional game — 15 000 lari; organizing a slot machine hall — from 50 000 to 1 000 000 lari per year inclusive; organizing lotto and bingo (each type) — 15 000 lari per year; organizing a totalizator — from 30 000 to 300 000 lari per year inclusive; organizing a gambling club — from 10 000 to 50 000 lari per year inclusive.
For systemic-electronic organization permits: organizing casino games — 5 000 000 lari per year, while one issued on the basis of a casino organization permit — 100 000 lari per year; organizing slot machine games — 1 000 000 lari per year, one issued on the basis of a slot hall permit — 100 000 lari per year; organizing totalizator games — 100 000 lari per year. A permit for the supply of gambling and/or profitable games — 100 000 lari per year, and a cigar bar permit — 15 000 lari.
The Territorial Differentiation of Casinos
The rate for a casino organization permit changes by territory. For the whole territory of Georgia (except the city of Batumi, the area around Bazaleti lake in the Dusheti municipality, the Gudauri special regulation territory, the settlement of Bakuriani, and the municipalities of Kobuleti, Borjomi, Tskaltubo and Signagi) the rate is no more than 5 000 000 lari per year. In Batumi, around Bazaleti lake, and in the Kobuleti and Borjomi municipalities — 250 000 lari per year.
Where rates are set as ranges, the concrete amount is the competence of the Government: it establishes the rates for a slot machine hall, a totalizator, a gambling club and a casino within the limits defined by the law, and a slot machine hall rate it has established may be increased within 5 years of its entry into force by no more than 30 %. Therefore, in budgeting, the verification of the current rates against the Government's current decisions is indispensable.
Exemptions and Preferences
The law contains several exemptions that are budget-decisive for gambling projects. Exempt from the payment of the permit fee are: the organization of a casino on the Gudauri special regulation territory, on the territory of the settlement of Bakuriani, and in the Tskaltubo and Signagi municipalities. In addition, exempt is the organization of a casino on the territory of a newly built hotel of no fewer than one hundred rooms in Batumi, Kobuleti and Khelvachauri, and in the villages of Anaklia and Ganmukhuri of the Zugdidi municipality on the territory of a newly built hotel of no fewer than eighty rooms — for 10 years from the issuance of the permit.
Separate exemptions concern gambling clubs: in Tbilisi, the holder of a casino organization permit is exempt, anywhere in Georgia, from the fee established for obtaining a permit for organizing no more than 3 gambling clubs, while the holder of a Tbilisi slot machine hall permit is exempt for 1 gambling club permit. The Government is also entitled to establish preferences on the casino fee and determines when a hotel is considered newly built.
The Payment Procedure
The ninth article of the law determines the payment mechanics. Under the general rule the fee is paid in cash or cashless settlement before the issuance of the corresponding permit. For gambling permits, however, the holder is entitled to pay the permit fee annually: the payment and the declaration are submitted to the issuing organ no later than every subsequent 12 months from the date of issuance of the permit, while the first year's fee is paid in advance, before the issuance of the permit.
For a gambling club and systemic-electronic permits issued on the basis of another permit, the first year's fee is paid in full, regardless of the days remaining until the end of the current year of the underlying permit. Upon early cancellation of a permit, the obligation to pay the remaining part is not imposed, while upon refusal to issue a permit the paid fee is not returned — these circumstances must be built into the assessment of tax risks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the fee for a casino permit?
For the whole territory, with the established territorial exceptions — no more than 5 000 000 lari per year; in Batumi, around Bazaleti, in Kobuleti and Borjomi — 250 000 lari per year. In Gudauri, Bakuriani, Tskaltubo and Signagi the organization is exempt from the fee.
Is annual payment of the fee possible?
Yes. For gambling permits the law allows annual payment — the payment and declaration are submitted no later than every subsequent 12 months, and the first year's fee is paid before the permit is issued.
What exemptions exist?
A casino in Gudauri, Bakuriani, Tskaltubo and Signagi is exempt; casinos connected with newly built hotels — for 10 years; and Tbilisi permit holders are exempt from the fee for a certain number of gambling club permits.
Is the fee returned upon refusal?
No. Where issuance is refused, the paid fee is not returned. Upon early cancellation, the payment of the remaining part is no longer imposed.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team will fully support the budgeting of permit fees for your gambling project: we will recalculate the one-time and annual burden at the rates of the law, examine the territorial exemptions and prepare a payment schedule aligned with the plan for obtaining permits.
Contact us through Legal.ge — we will help ensure that permit expenses are planned realistically relative to the scale of your project.