Georgia Opens the Way for Legal Casino Tournaments

Georgia's Parliament has passed a law allowing casinos to host international gambling tournaments. The law passed with 73 votes from lawmakers, while 5 lawmakers voted against it. The bill was brought to Parliament through an expedited process by the ruling populist Georgian Dream party.

Under the law, an international tournament is an event whose prize pool is guaranteed in advance by the organizer and in which at least 80 percent of participants are foreign nationals. During parliamentary debate, this threshold was raised from the 70 percent in the draft. When the prize pool exceeds 3 million GEL (1.05 million euros), casinos are granted a tax exemption and an exemption from table game fees. Tournaments may be held in casino buildings or in approved outdoor venues.

Winnings for competitors will generally be subject to a 20 percent tax. However, for tournaments with prize pools above 3 million GEL, foreign participants will not pay tax on their winnings. Parliament removed the 150,000 GEL (52,350 euros) penalty proposed for unauthorized organizers from the text. For violations by licensed operators, a penalty of 50,000 GEL was retained.

The Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarchate and the Public Defender opposed the law. The Patriarchate said it would formally discuss the issue and then announce a position. From the opposition, For Georgia voted against the law, and Eka Sepashvili warned that the games could spread in society in undesirable ways. Shota Berekashvili, Chairman of the Economic Policy Committee, argued that these events should be seen as international competitions that can attract large numbers of visitors.