Georgian lawmakers have submitted a legislative package that would create a separate permit for international gambling tournaments. The proposal sets an annual fee of GEL100,000 ($38,500) for organisers and defines eligibility by a guaranteed prize fund and the nationality of competitors.
To qualify, a casino-organised tournament would need at least 70% of its participants to be foreign citizens. The event could be held at a licensed casino or another venue with the relevant permit.
Georgia's current gambling law already allows ordinary tournaments away from casino premises, so the off-site option itself is an existing feature of the market. The proposed change is the distinct international category and its financial terms.
The most significant difference concerns a club table used solely for a qualifying tournament. Existing law allows a casino to avoid the gaming business fee for such a table, but then bars it from earning income from the tournament.
Under the new package, an international event with a prize fund above GEL3m could use the fee exemption while allowing its organiser to earn revenue from the event. That provision would change the economics of larger tournaments if lawmakers approve it.
Georgia's current framework also requires a casino permit holder to tell the Revenue Service about a planned tournament two working days before it begins. The notification includes the event's opening and closing dates and the number of club tables.
The report does not spell out how the proposed international permit would interact with every existing administrative requirement.
The package proposes a GEL50,000 fine for breaching permit conditions and a GEL150,000 fine for holding an international tournament without authorisation. Those figures are separate from the annual permit fee and the minimum prize-fund threshold tied to the table-fee exemption.
Interpressnews reported the submission on 26 October. The report gives no date for a parliamentary vote or commencement of the proposed rules. Casinos should therefore treat the permit, exemption and penalties as legislative proposals until the package progresses through parliament.
In March, Planet Hollywood and Iconic Entertainment announced an integrated casino resort under construction in Tbilisi. Its planned casino illustrates investment in Georgia's land-based gaming market, although neither company has announced an international tournament under the proposal.
Four Georgian lawmakers are listed as the package's authors and initiators
