Legal liability in Georgia’s gambling sector is set to be tightened, with significantly higher fines introduced for violations of licensing conditions.
The amendments are being proposed to the law “On Arranging Lotteries, Gambling and Prize Games,” with the government submitting the legislative initiative to Parliament.
Under the draft law, penalties for various license holders will increase substantially. The fine for casino operators will rise from 7,000 GEL to 20,000 GEL, while slot machine salon operators will face an increase from 1,000 GEL to 10,000 GEL.
Fines for gambling club license holders and operators of gambling and prize games will increase from 2,000 GEL to 10,000 GEL. Meanwhile, operators providing casino, slot machine and totalizator games in electronic or system-based formats will see fines rise from 7,000 GEL to 20,000 GEL.
The government says the existing penalties have proven insufficient as a deterrent and fail to ensure proper compliance with licensing requirements.
“In many cases, it is economically more beneficial for a license holder to violate the licensing conditions and then pay the fine, rather than fully comply with the established requirements,” the government said in its explanatory note.
The draft amendments were prepared by the Ministry of Finance and are expected to be reviewed by Parliament in the coming weeks.
