Permits, compliance and contracts for online casinos, sportsbooks and slot operators, and for the suppliers behind them. Including Georgia's new 5% permit for foreign-facing operators.
tax on stakes less winnings from foreign players
annual fee for each foreign-only online permit, valid for 5 years
for the Revenue Service to decide on a permit application
minimum playing age for Georgian citizens / foreign nationals
Every gambling business in Georgia needs a permit from the Revenue Service, including online operators and suppliers of games. KNM Advisory obtains the right permit, including the foreign-only online permit in force since July 2026 (5% tax, GEL 100,000 a year, no Georgian players), and then handles what comes next: AML and player verification, player terms, supplier and affiliate contracts, payments, tax, data protection and disputes.
Each gambling activity in Georgia has its own permit, issued by the Revenue Service. Since July 2026, operators that serve only foreign players have a separate route: no land-based venue, a far lower annual fee and a 5% tax rate.
| Foreign-only online permit | Online permit for Georgian players | Games supply permit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Online casino, slot or betting operators whose players are not Georgian citizens | Online casino, slot or betting operators serving Georgian players | Suppliers of games, platforms and other essential products, to operators in Georgia or to clients abroad |
| Annual fee | GEL 100,000 per permit | Casino GEL 5,000,000, or GEL 100,000 with a land casino permit. Slots GEL 1,000,000, or GEL 100,000 with a slot hall permit. Betting GEL 100,000 | GEL 100,000 |
| Land-based permit | Not needed | Needed for betting. Optional for casino and slots, but it sets the lower fee | Not needed |
| Georgian players | Not allowed | Allowed from age 25 | Not applicable |
| Foreign players | Allowed from age 18 | Allowed from age 18 | Not applicable |
| Operator tax | 5% of stakes less winnings | Casino and slots: 20% of stakes less winnings. Betting: 7% of stakes. Revenue from foreign players: 5% of stakes less winnings | General tax rules |
| Tax on player withdrawals | None for foreign citizens | 5% withheld, except for foreign citizens | Not applicable |
| Term | 5 years | 5 years, or the remaining term of the land-based permit | 5 years |
| Websites | One domain per permit | One domain per permit | Not applicable |
| Base in Georgia | Georgian company, management address and servers in Georgia | Georgian company, management address and servers in Georgia | Georgian company |
Fees and rates as of November 2026.
We match your players, markets and games to the right permit, and check owners and managers against the eligibility rules.
Georgian company, management address, server location and bank accounts. See Market Entry.
Game rules, player registration and verification rules, deposit and balance rules, website disclosures, and certificates for games and essential products.
We file with the Revenue Service and deal with it until the decision, which is due within 20 days.
Annual fees, and changes to rules, domains, addresses and essential products, with the notices and consents each one needs.
A permit cannot be issued if the company has a recognised tax debt, or if a manager, founder, partner or beneficial owner has an unexpunged conviction for an intentional economic crime or a serious intentional crime. The conviction rule keeps applying for as long as you hold the permit, so test this first.
It does not give you the right to target players in another country, and it is not an EU passport. Whether you can accept players from a given market depends on that market's rules, so we map your target countries before launch.
An October 2026 amendment lets a casino permit holder obtain a separate permit, at GEL 100,000 a year, to run tournaments with a guaranteed prize fund and at least 80% foreign participants, at the casino or elsewhere. Each tournament needs the Revenue Service's consent. Above a GEL 3,000,000 prize fund, foreign participants' winnings are exempt from income tax, and club tables used only for that tournament pay no gambling business fee.
Gambling counts as high-risk. Accounts and merchant services stall without a valid permit, an AML programme and a clear picture of how player money moves.
A bank-ready file: permit, ownership and source-of-funds documents, AML policy and a flow-of-funds description. We review payment agreements and deal with banks and providers directly.
Gambling operators are obliged entities. They must identify and verify players, monitor transactions and report to the Financial Monitoring Service, and serious failures can cost the permit.
A risk-based AML programme: risk assessment, KYC and enhanced due diligence procedures, source-of-funds checks, reporting lines and staff training.
Georgian citizens under 25, foreigners under 18, people on the addiction list and barred groups, such as employees of budget-funded bodies, must be kept out online and on site.
Registration, identification and verification rules that work in practice, checks against the Revenue Service lists, and a responsible gambling policy.
Bonus rules, void bets, withdrawals and account closures are where complaints start, and terms copied from another brand rarely match the rules you filed with the regulator.
Player terms, bonus terms and game rules in Georgian and English, aligned with your filed rules, and a complaints procedure that holds up.
Gambling advertising in Georgia is banned apart from narrow exceptions, and what an affiliate does in your name can land on you.
A marketing compliance review, sponsorship structures that fit the exceptions, and affiliate agreements with clear rules, audit rights and termination triggers.
Operators must check that suppliers hold a supply permit. Essential products such as game platforms, random number generators, jackpots and player databases need certificates, and changes must be notified.
Platform, white-label, game licence and live casino agreements that allocate permits, certification, uptime, IP and exit. For suppliers, we obtain the supply permit itself.
The rate changes with the game, the player's citizenship and the permit, and the operator withholds tax on withdrawals, so revenue has to be tracked accurately every month.
A tax model for your structure, monthly reporting rules, dividend planning and representation before the Revenue Service. See Tax Advisory.
ID documents, payment details and behaviour profiles make an operator a high-risk data controller and an attractive target.
A data protection programme: impact assessment, data protection officer, cross-border transfers and an incident plan.
Look-alike domains, copied games and borrowed brand names take players and damage trust.
Trademark registration, domain strategy, takedowns and clean licences for games and content. See Intellectual Property.
A breach of permit conditions brings fines, and repeated breaches can end in revocation. Inspections and player disputes need a fast, consistent response.
Inspection readiness, representation before the Revenue Service and the courts, and settlement of player claims. See Dispute Resolution.
From the permit to launch and beyond.
Online betting, with its own rules and tax.
B2B suppliers have their own permit and their own risks.
Growth that stays inside the advertising rules.
Moving player money lawfully and with clear responsibility.
Buying into, or building, a regulated business.
A permit for each activity, and one domain for each online permit.
Operator name, legal address, phone, permit number, game list, detailed rules and a notice of who may not play, in Georgian and, on foreign-only sites, in English too.
Registration, identification and verification of every player, repeated every year.
Age limits and the Revenue Service lists enforced at sign-up and in play.
Clear rules for player deposits, balances and withdrawals, filed with the regulator.
Authorisation certificates for games, random number generators, platforms, jackpots, player databases, and financial and management systems.
Proof that each supplier holds a supply permit before you use its products.
Policies, trained staff and reporting to the Financial Monitoring Service.
Privacy notices, processing records and a data protection officer where required.
A process for changes to rules, domains, addresses and products, since many need prior notice or consent from the Revenue Service.
Senior Partner
Leads the Corporate, Litigation and Regulatory practices. Represents clients in complex disputes before courts and arbitral tribunals, and guides businesses through licensing and regulatory authorisation.
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Managing Partner
Leads the firm's Corporate, Tax, Litigation, Start-up and IP work. Member of the Georgian Bar Association, with a Master of Law and Business from Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and a Master of Business Law concentrating in Tax Law.
View profileYes, with the right permit from the Revenue Service. Running gambling or supplying games without one is prohibited. Georgian citizens may play from age 25 and foreign nationals from age 18.
A permit in force since July 2026 for online casino, slot or betting operators whose players are not Georgian citizens. It lasts 5 years, costs GEL 100,000 a year per permit, covers one website and does not require a land-based venue. Revenue from foreign players is taxed at 5% of stakes less winnings, and Georgian citizens cannot play.
Online casino: GEL 5,000,000 a year, or GEL 100,000 with a land casino permit. Online slots: GEL 1,000,000 a year, or GEL 100,000 with a slot hall permit. Online betting: GEL 100,000 a year, for holders of a land betting permit. Foreign-only online permits and the games supply permit: GEL 100,000 a year each.
Online casino and slots pay 20% of stakes less winnings, and online betting for Georgian players pays 7% of stakes. Revenue from foreign players is taxed at 5% of stakes less winnings. Operators withhold 5% on player withdrawals, except for foreign citizens. Gambling services are exempt from VAT, without the right to deduct.
Yes. Permits go only to businesses registered in Georgia, and online operators also need a management address and server infrastructure in Georgia. We set all of this up. See Market Entry.
Yes, if they supply games or essential products that can affect game results, such as game platforms and random number generators, to operators or to clients abroad. The games supply permit costs GEL 100,000 a year and lasts 5 years, and operators must check that their suppliers hold it.
The law gives the Revenue Service 20 days from the application to decide, and the permit is deemed issued if no decision comes in time, unless the period has been formally extended. Preparing the company, servers, rules and certificates usually takes longer than the decision itself, so start with those.
Generally no. Gambling advertising has been banned since March 2022, with narrow exceptions such as the operator's own gaming site and venues, certain sports sponsorship, and international airports and border crossings.
No. It authorises your activity under Georgian law. Whether you can accept or target players elsewhere depends on each country's rules, and the permit is not an EU passport. We map your target markets before launch.
· Reviewed by: Uta Kharbedia, Senior Partner. This page is general information, not legal advice. Rates, deadlines and procedures change: please speak to us before relying on them for a decision.
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