According to Giorgi Mamulaishvili, Head of the Georgian Gambling Business Association, the main challenge facing the sector is illegal operators.

As he noted while assessing last year’s performance in an interview with BM.GE, it is a positive development that, following the introduction of regulations, the business managed to bring customers back. However, for further growth, it is crucial to curb illegal operators.

“We are satisfied that the business itself managed to create a turning point within the sector, given that customers who had previously left the Georgian market have returned. On average, the market has been growing by 15–20% annually since 2024. The initial regulatory changes had caused legal operators to lose customers and created difficulties, but the business managed to reverse this trend already in 2024. Through management involvement by operators active in the market, these customers were brought back, including through the offers we now have.

However, there is another issue — illegal operators, which are currently very active in the Georgian market and create serious problems for legal operators,” says Giorgi Mamulaishvili.

According to him, this refers to illegal online platforms that are accessible to minors as well as to individuals who are restricted from gambling on legal websites. Mamulaishvili notes that consultations with the government are ongoing regarding the blocking of such platforms, and there is an expectation that appropriate steps will be taken.

“Illegal operators create problems not only for legal operators, but for society as a whole. Minors and restricted individuals — those we are talking about when discussing involvement in gambling — are exactly the users who play on illegal platforms.

If systemic changes are not implemented to block illegal operators, the current situation will not change. Consultations are currently underway with the Revenue Service, the Ministry of Finance, and the regulator. In other words, the state itself feels the need and has the desire to change this system. However, this will require certain legislative changes, and I sincerely hope that in the near future we will achieve the maximum possible blocking of illegal operators. If this change is implemented and the state supports business development, it will be beneficial not only for operators, but also for the state and society as a whole.

As you know, the gambling business in Georgia is fairly well regulated — including age limits, lists of restricted persons, and so on. Illegal websites, however, currently have no such controls. Instead of paying what they owe to the state budget, they spend these funds on attracting customers. There is also a strong need to focus on consumer protection, because it is often unclear under which country’s license these illegal sites operate, and ordinary users have no real protection.

This would be a positive step: customers would remain in the country, taxes would be paid, participation would be controlled, and restricted individuals would not have the opportunity to engage in gambling. Of course, this does not mean a 100% guarantee that illegal operators will disappear from Georgia, but in my view, even reclaiming 50% of the market would already be a major step forward,” Mamulaishvili says.

He also identifies sports betting as another challenge, noting that the sector would like taxation to be based on profit rather than turnover. According to Mamulaishvili, consultations on this issue are also ongoing with the relevant authorities.

“There is also the issue of sports betting, which prevents us from bringing back a large number of customers. Currently, sports betting is taxed on turnover rather than on profit. As a result, we cannot offer customers the kind of incentives that would attract and return them to the Georgian market. Changing the taxation model so that sports betting is taxed on profit instead of turnover would be a major advantage in the future, allowing operators to make better offers than foreign illegal operators, which are currently doing exactly that,” said the head of the Gambling Business Association.

BM.GE also asked how the sector views regional competition, particularly the impact of Azerbaijan’s legalization of gambling. In response, Giorgi Mamulaishvili said that it is too early to talk about competition at this stage, as Georgia remains far more developed in this regard.

“Azerbaijan carried out legalization this year, but there has been no real progress so far. This does not concern the online sector — it is more about land-based facilities. At this point, I do not see any changes, as Azerbaijani citizens still regularly come to Georgia to gamble. Legalization is one thing, but building infrastructure is another. At present, Georgia’s infrastructure is far more developed than Azerbaijan’s. Georgian consumers also have access to many more services than in Azerbaijan. Casinos have not even opened there yet. Therefore, speaking about competition at this stage is somewhat premature, and time will show how things evolve and in which direction,” Giorgi Mamulaishvili stated.