TBILISI, October 29 – Georgia’s parliament has approved a new legal category for large international gambling tournaments, offering tax breaks to events with multimillion-lari prize funds and predominantly foreign participation.
The rules will regulate live poker competitions, which bring players together for a series of elimination events over several days.
Under the legislation, an international gambling tournament must be organised by a licensed casino and have a prize fund guaranteed in advance. At least 80% of its participants must be foreign citizens.
Tournaments may be held inside a licensed casino or at another venue. Organisers will also be allowed to earn revenue from the events.
A tournament with a prize fund above GEL 3 million, approximately USD 1.15 million, will receive special treatment. Gaming tables used exclusively for the tournament will be exempt from the usual gaming-business levy, while winnings collected by foreign citizens will not be taxed.
Georgian participants’ taxable winnings will be subject to a 20% tax. Georgian citizens may account for no more than 20% of the field, and existing restrictions will continue to apply. This means public servants and people registered on Georgia’s gambling exclusion list cannot participate.
Violations of the tournament permit conditions will carry a GEL 50,000 fine.
The Georgian Dream-sponsored package passed its final reading on October 28 by 73 votes to five. Parliament considered and approved it through an accelerated procedure over two plenary sessions.
The original bill required 70% of participants to be foreign citizens, but that threshold was raised to 80% during its passage. Lawmakers also removed a proposed GEL 150,000 fine for people organising tournaments without authorisation.
Economic Policy Committee chairman Shota Berekashvili, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the purpose was to attract visitors during quieter tourism periods. He described the competitions as sporting tournaments and pointed to similar events held in cities including Barcelona, Paris and Milan.
International poker competitions are not new to Georgia. Batumi’s Eclipse Casino has hosted events in the Eurasian Poker Tour since 2024.
An EAPT festival held there from April 2 to 11 this year attracted more than 600 players from over 30 countries and generated a combined prize pool of USD 2 million, according to the casino. Tournament records show that its main event alone recorded 569 entries and re-entries and a prize pool of USD 711,250.
A further EAPT festival was held in Batumi from October 2 to 11.
The new legislation therefore creates a preferential legal and tax regime for attracting larger tournaments rather than introducing such competitions to Georgia for the first time.
The accelerated approval has drawn criticism from the opposition, with United National Movement politician Lasha Parulava accusing the government of giving the gambling industry preferential treatment without accompanying it with measures to address gambling-related harm.
Among religious leaders, the new legislation is also met with skepticism. Metropolitan Anton of Vani and Baghdati said the leadership of the Georgian Orthodox Church would discuss the legislation on October 30 before announcing a joint position.
