Age Restrictions
The statutory foundation of player protection is the thirty-second article of the law: it is prohibited for a Georgian citizen under 25 and a foreign citizen or stateless person under 18 to enter for the purpose of playing or to participate in a gambling or profitable game — except a promotional game — at the place of its organization. This ban also covers games organized in a systemic-electronic form.
The organizer's duty is active here: it must request from the person entering the place of the game an identity document or another document confirming identity and identification data — in material or electronic form — and ensure the verification of age through that document. It is also prohibited to sell lottery tickets to, and pay winnings to, a person under 18.
The Lists of Dependent and Prohibited Persons
The article 7-1 of the law determines the instrument of self-exclusion and restriction: the lists of dependent and prohibited persons are maintained by the Revenue Service, and only data concerning Georgian citizens may be entered. Data in the dependent persons list are entered on the basis of the person's own application — by declaration — or by a judge's order, for a term of 5 years; early removal is possible upon termination of citizenship or by a judge's order — no earlier than 3 years from entry.
Persons included in the lists are prohibited from being admitted to the place of the game and from participating. The personal data are processed by the Revenue Service, and the organizer, on the basis of its request, receives only information on the prohibition of participation concerning a concrete person. Information obtained under this article is stored for 5 years in a special electronic database and is confidential.
The Organizer's Obligations Toward the Player
The twenty-ninth article of the law completes the circle of the organizer's player-related obligations: it must ensure public order at the place of the game and the protection of the players' lawful rights; carry out the registration of paid winnings; conduct the game in accordance with the regulations; give the player a written confirmation of winnings upon request; examine claims within the established deadline; keep data on amounts won and lost confidential; admit no additional conditions when paying out winnings and no transfers of funds between players' accounts.
For the systemic-electronic form additional rules apply: the registration, identification and verification of each player according to identification data, and the protection of the database. These obligations are the core of the operator's compliance program — their fulfillment both implements player protection and reduces the risk of sanctions.
In closing, the value of a player protection program lies in its everyday operation — in the fact that every entrance, every registration and every paid out winnings works under the same rule. It is precisely this constancy that gives the program value both for the player and in the eyes of the regulator, and it is precisely why we assemble it at the level of procedures rather than declarations.
Frequently Asked Questions
From what age is play allowed?
For a Georgian citizen — from 25, for a foreign citizen and a stateless person — from 18; a lottery ticket from 18. The organizer verifies age with a document.
How is self-exclusion requested?
A person submits to the Revenue Service a declaration on the entry of their own data into the dependent persons list; the data are entered for a term of 5 years. Persons also enter the list by a judge's order.
What information does the organizer receive about the lists?
Only information on the prohibition of participation of a concrete person, on the basis of a request — the full list is not sent to it.
What concerns online players?
The registration, identification and verification of each player are mandatory, together with database protection; the participation of persons in the lists is prohibited.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team helps operators build the player protection compliance program and helps players use the legal instruments: from age control procedures to the self-exclusion declaration.
Contact us through Legal.ge — player protection is a requirement of the law, and its precise fulfillment protects both sides.
In the operator's practice these three layers — age control, work with the lists and the other obligations — are built into a single procedural contour: at the entrance stands the verifier of the document, in the online regime the verification process, and both read the same legal base. Therefore they must be planned together rather than separately — this saves both resources and the risk of inconsistency.
For the player, what matters is knowing that the instruments genuinely work: a self-exclusion declaration enters into force for a defined term, the data are protected, and additional conditions on the payment of winnings are impermissible. This knowledge gives gaming decisions a better foundation.
One additional practical detail for operators: age verification stands at the entrance, while verification lives in online registration; designing both processes together reduces cost and removes inconsistency. This integrated approach is the format we assemble with our clients, from the first procedure to the internal audit of readiness.