Georgia's International Gambling License: What the 2026 Law Changed

Since July 2026 a company registered in Georgia can run an online casino, an online slots site or an online sportsbook for players outside the country, under a permit issued by the Revenue Service in Tbilisi. This post sets out what Law No. 1822 created, who qualifies, what each permit costs, how the 5% tax works and how long the process takes.

What Law No. 1822 Created

Parliament adopted Law No. 1822 on 25 June 2026 and it was published on 3 July 2026, amending the law on organising lotteries, games of chance and other prize games. It added "international organisation" of online games: games in which Georgian citizens may not take part. Two companion laws set the fees and freed the new permits from the quarterly gambling business fee that domestic operators pay.

The result is three new permits, each separate from the others and from Georgia's domestic permits.

None of the three needs a casino, slot hall or betting shop in Georgia behind it. That is the main difference from the domestic online permits, which are tied to a land venue or priced far higher without one.

Who Can Apply for the International Permit

The permit goes only to an entrepreneur registered in Georgia, which in practice means a Georgian limited liability company. The shareholders and directors can be foreign, and the law sets no minimum share capital.

The application lists the actual address in Georgia from which the games are managed and the address in Georgia where the server infrastructure sits. The Revenue Service refuses the permit where the company has an unpaid recognised tax debt, or where a manager, founder or beneficial owner has an unspent conviction for an intentional economic crime or a grave crime.

What the International Permit Costs

The fees sit in the Law on Licence and Permit Fees, Article 7(10). Each international permit costs about €34,400 a year, paid for the first year before the permit is issued and then within every 12 months of the issue date. On top of that come the charges of Random Systems Georgia, the company the Revenue Service selected to run the state's electronic control system.

Those charges are caps set by Government resolution, with the exact amount fixed in each operator's contract, so the cost of a Georgian gambling license in year one depends partly on what that contract says.

How the 5% Gambling Tax Works

Georgia taxes online gambling on revenue, not on profit. Under Article 98(5) of the Tax Code, gross gaming revenue earned from foreign players is taxed at 5%: bets placed by foreign players minus the winnings paid to them, calculated and paid every month. Salaries, platform fees, marketing and the permit fee do not reduce the base. Profit kept in the company is not taxed again, and dividends paid to owners abroad carry 5% withholding unless one of Georgia's 58 tax treaties lowers it.

Since 1 January 2026 permit holders also pay Random Systems Georgia an operating fee of 1% of gross gaming revenue a month. Foreign players' winnings and withdrawals are exempt from Georgian tax, and gambling services are exempt from VAT, so input VAT on your purchases becomes a cost. Players in Georgia are taxed differently: gambling tax in Georgia on domestic online casino and slots is 20% of gross gaming revenue, and domestic online betting pays 7% of stakes.

Which Players the Permit Covers

An international permit serves only players who are not Georgian citizens. The website must show the operator's name, legal address, phone, permit number, game list and rules in Georgian and English, and state that Georgian citizens and foreigners under 18 may not play.

Serving players in Georgia needs a domestic permit, a different product with a land-venue link, a minimum player age of 25 for Georgian citizens and a 20% tax on gross gaming revenue. Georgia's gambling advertising ban also applies: ads are allowed on the licensed operator's own website, in sports sponsorship, inside venues and at international airports and border crossings.

How Long the International Permit Takes

Most of the time goes on the platform. Random Systems Georgia publishes its own process: registration on its portal, a service agreement, an initial audit of the platform and games, integration with the control system, then the authorization certificate. Only then does the application go to the Revenue Service.

The company, management address, servers and bank account run in parallel from the first week. We plan launches at two to four months from the first call, because getting a gambling license in Georgia runs the company setup and the platform audit side by side.

How the International Permit Compares to the Domestic Ones

Georgia's domestic online permits still exist, and the difference in cost is large. A standalone domestic online casino permit costs about €1,718,800 a year and a standalone domestic online slots permit about €343,800. Online casino or slots linked to a land venue costs €34,400 a year, but the land permit, a quarterly gambling business fee of about €85,900 to €103,100 per online permit and the 20% domestic tax come with it.

The international permits pay no quarterly gambling business fee and are taxed at 5%. The trade-off is the player base: no Georgian citizens. Platform providers and game studios supplying either kind of operator need the separate supply permit, and many of them also look at International Company status at 5% for their development teams in Tbilisi.

Every operator under these permits is also an accountable person under Georgia's anti-money laundering law, which means AML checks on every player at registration and reports of transactions over about €17,200 to the Financial Monitoring Service.

Georgia International Gambling License FAQ