22 Nov, 2021
According to George Mamulaishvili, head of the administration of the Association of Gaming Businesses of Georgia, increasing taxes and banning online casinos will force business to go underground. According to him, the news announced today by the Prime Minister regarding the gaming sector was unexpected.
"Today's statement of the Prime Minister was absolutely unexpected. We are interested in the motive, reason and purpose of this plan. The activities of the gaming business are transparent and anyone can find information about us. The experience of many countries has shown that prohibition is not the solution. Most likely, a large part of the gaming business will go underground. We are ready to start consultations with the state and the regulator. We are ready for discussions. Gaming business is a big contributor to the state budget. This is about half a billion per year (taxes, income, VAT, profit tax). In addition, it should also be noted that many people are employed in this sector. Accordingly, we think that even just increasing the tax will damage business and force investors to leave the country", Giorgi Mamulashvili told "Business Formula".
As it became known today, the government initially plans to increase taxes for online casinos, as well as ban advertising and increase the age limit to 25 years, and in the second stage, ban online casinos altogether.
