Georgia approves Online Gambling legislation
Last Updated on by James King
Met with widespread approval, the country of Georgia has passed significant online gambling bills, which will put an end to illegal gambling after laws were approved which will lead to a clampdown on such activity.
The law was approved by the Georgian Dream MPs with the ballot expedited after hearings in parliament.
Details of such bills will see online gambling companies that operate in the country witness a 65-70 per cent increase in taxes from January 2022.
People who are under the age of 25, socially vulnerable residents, public employees, individuals who have been blacklisted by courts and those who make applications to the Revenue Service to request self-exclusion will be banned from March.
Problem gambling rife in Georgia
One of the reasons for the passing of such a bill is perhaps significantly different to the reasons of other countries. While the amount of tax that can be made from online gambling appeals to a number of territories and as such, often acts as the main reason, there is a much more important factor in Georgia.
This is in regards to the ability now to impose restrictions in order to combat gambling addiction; blocking customers who have problems from sites and clamping down on illegal gambling that goes on in the country.
A substantial amount of crime and, indeed the emergence of gangs in Georgia can be attributed to gambling and the passing of such a bill will help to combat this significantly.
While what is a hefty tax rate imposed on gambling companies could help to make a difference for the government, it is unlikely that Georgia will attract many big online gambling firms because of this.
A market to watch?
Unlike many of the emerging gambling markets around the world, such as the US and Argentina, it is unlikely that we will see much big activity in Georgia over the next few years, with the global online gambling industry set to hit unprecedented heights.
With a blanket ban on gambling advertising, in any form from March as well, this indicates that the government are not planning on this industry becoming a major revenue earner for them either.