Casinos in Georgia

Introduction

In order to get the best gambling experience in a land based casino, it is necessary to have all the important information about not only the casinos and regulations but the host country as well. Our goal is to provide this insight to every interested player out there and this time the country we are going to tell you about is Georgia…

To begin with…

…let’s have a look at the country itself!

Georgia is located in Eastern Europe and West Asia and is 69,700 square meters big. It has a population of under four million inhabitants and almost a third of the population live in the biggest and capital city, Tbilisi. The official language is Georgian and the country originates back from prehistoric times. The majority of the residents are Christians and a few other religions are present in a small percent.

Some less formal info about Georgia…

The country is known for its culture that goes back to thousands of years in the past. Its culture was very rich during the Renaissance period and Golden age when classical literature, arts, philosophy, architecture and science were very prominent. Nowadays, Georgia is famous for its folklore, traditional music, dances, cinema, theater and art. It has produced numerous famous people from different walks of life, for example ballet, poetry, cinematography etc. What’s more, Georgia has astonishing ski resorts and luxurious vineyards, these are some of the places foreign travelers usually visit.

The History of Gambling

Officially, gambling has been legal in Georgia since the gambling laws were liberalized in 1990.

Although this industry has been formally accepted for not that long, gambling has been taking place a long time before that. In 2014, the first drafts and recommendations were made regarding opening land based casinos and other gambling markets. After that, legislation was introduced that allows casinos and other similar establishments to function legally within the country. The government of Georgia began issuing licenses to land casinos.

Legislation and Jurisdiction

In 2021, some amendments were made to the law governing gambling that will go into effect in 2024. These are made in order to limit the negative effects of gambling in the country. The changes include raising the legal age of gambling, advertisement restrictions, adding an exclusion list, prohibiting banks from making payments to foreign gambling operators and dealing with the lottery taxes. The biggest change occurred in marketing, making ads related to gambling and sports betting illegal in most places in Georgia. The legal age has been raised from 18 to 21 at first and now it will be 25, but this does not apply for foreign visitors, for them the minimum is 18. Georgian payment providers can no longer accept payments from foreign casino and sports betting companies. The exclusion list can be voluntary, people apply themselves to be excluded from gambling, or a family member can request someone to be banned from gambling, in that case it has to be proven in court that the person in question has an addiction. Furthermore, the tax that gambling users must pay on their winnings is 10%.

On the other hand…

Sports betting in Georgia is not legal, multiple bills have not been approved in 2024. Residents of Georgia must wait until this subject is brought up again, which will most likely be in 2025, to see if any new laws will be passed and if this will be changed.

Popular Spots and Games

Whoever decides to try out gambling in Georgia has a solid range of facilities and entertainment options to choose from. The facilities include: casinos, slot clubs, bonus lotteries, totalisators, bingo halls, lottery and gaming clubs.

People are familiar with most of these venues so…

…let’s discuss the less known one!

A totalisator or a tote board is a type of display used to show information and can be usually seen on race tracks, to portray odds and payoffs, or telethons, to portray the collected sums.

Most casinos are located in the capital Tbilisi and in Batumi. The facilities in Batumi aim to attract customers from Turkey which is nearby because gambling in Turkey is mostly illegal and thus many players are eager to find a close location where they can engage in gambling. Some of the casinos in Batumi even have Turkish flags!

The games that the casinos offer include lotteries, various table games such as Blackjack, Roulette, poker variants etc. and there is a wide range of slots. A lot of the casinos are a part of hotels and resorts and some of them even offer shuttle service from the airport to the casino, rewards and deals such as complimentary accommodation and services at hotels and bars and other amazing perks. Interestingly, the hotels and resorts entail various foreign cuisines, for example, dishes from France, China, Italy and other places…

Land casinos of Georgia are a real business packed with benefits for visitors!

Banking

Gamers who want to visit land based casinos of Georgia have an array of payment options to choose from. It shouldn’t be an issue to find a method each individual finds most convenient. One of the most frequently used payment options around the world is major cards such as Visa and Master so it includes this jurisdiction too. Players have a way to make payments via mobile devices when they opt for Mobiamo, it allows global customers to make payments from their mobiles in more than 65 countries. ‘Mint’ is a prepaid card that enables users to pay for goods and services online. Apart from these, there are a few popular e-wallets, Qiwi wallet, Web Money and Yandex Money and other methods. Most of the casinos keep up with the latest trends and accept a variety of choices so making deposits at casinos goes without any hassle!

To Conclude

Although the majority of land casinos lie in two cities of Georgia, Tbilisi and Batumi, we can say for sure that the gaming industry over there is flourishing. The country itself is a great connection between Europe and Asia and therefore makes it a suitable place for both players, the ones residing in Europe and the ones residing in Asia. Even though the first thing that comes to mind when we think about this country is not gambling but some of its many other sights, fantastic products, art, dance and the like, it seems to have a very tempting gaming industry!