Georgia’s Parliament has adopted a law that lets casinos host international gambling tournaments and exempts those with prize pools above GEL 3m from table fees and from tax on foreign players’ winnings. The bill passed its expedited third reading by 73 votes to 5.
Lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party introduced the bill and took it through two plenary sessions, according to Georgia Today. The opposition For Georgia faction did not back it.
What the Georgia gambling tournaments law covers
Under the law, an international gambling tournament is a casino-run competition with a prize pool the organiser guarantees in advance, and foreign nationals must make up at least 80% of the players. The original draft set that share at 70%.
Tournaments can take place inside licensed casino venues or outside them. A breach of permit conditions carries a GEL 50,000 fine. A GEL 150,000 fine for unauthorised organisers, included in the first draft, was removed before the final vote.
The exemptions
The incentives start at a prize pool of GEL 3m. Above that level:
- an organiser using a gaming table only for the tournament pays no gambling business fee on that table;
- foreign nationals pay no tax on their tournament income.
Georgian residents’ tournament winnings are taxed at 20% as personal income. Georgia’s 2021 gambling package, adopted by Parliament on 22 December 2021, raised the minimum gambling age to 25 for Georgian citizens and kept it at 18 for foreign citizens. More rules from the region are on our Eastern Europe coverage and gambling tax page.
Objections from the Church
People’s Power, a party close to the ruling majority, questioned the fast-track procedure. Its MP Eka Sepashvili said the explanatory note left out the social costs and warned of “the undesirable promotion of these games”, Georgia Today reported.
The Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarchate and the Public Defender also criticised the law. The Public Defender questioned why the state would encourage such tournaments in an Orthodox Christian country, according to OC Media. Archpriest Andria Jaghmaidze, head of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service, said the bill came as a shock to the Church.
Next steps
The Patriarchate is due to meet on 30 October to set out its position on the law. The law needs the President’s signature and publication in the official gazette before it takes effect.
Source: Parliament of Georgia
