How Georgia Is Becoming an International iGaming Hub

Gambling is steadily moving online. The global market for internet casinos, lotteries, betting and poker — captured by the umbrella term iGaming — is generating around $130 billion in revenue in 2026, and that figure could double within a decade. Georgia’s authorities have noticed the trend and are ready to build a competitive ecosystem for international and regional gambling companies. The legal foundation is already in place.

How Georgia’s legislation is changing

In June 2026, the national government introduced a whole package of amendments to the laws “On Arranging Lotteries, Games of Chance and Prize Games,” “On Licence and Permit Fees,” “On Licences and Permits,” and “On Advertising.” The amendments have already passed their third and final reading.

In essence, they add a new concept to the legal framework — the “international organiser of games in systemic-electronic form” — and set out the general parameters for how it operates within a separate, export-oriented segment of the gambling business.

Key condition: an international operator may not draw Georgian citizens into gambling — it is limited strictly to foreign markets, and may only serve foreign players aged 18 and over.

Unlike Georgian bookmakers, such an operator does not need physical gambling premises in the country. By default, it is assumed to run games remotely — over the internet, via smartphones or other devices.

Who can get an Georgia’s offshore iGaming license, and how

The amendments provide three special licence types for international gambling organisers:

• Online casinos — any platform involving gaming tables, roulette, cards or dice, where the outcome depends on chance.
• Gaming machines — electronic slots and simulators with various win-determination algorithms. Under Georgian rules, they must all offer at least 80% RTP (Return to Player) — winnings as a share of the total bets placed.
• Totalizators (betting) — for operators taking bets on sporting events or other outcomes not known in advance. Beyond classic bookmakers, this licence can also cover analogues of the prediction-market operators that have made headlines lately, such as Polymarket and Kalshi.

Despite the formal differences, the same requirements and conditions apply to all three licences. To qualify, a company must first register as a legal entity in Georgia — an option open to all non-residents without restriction.

Licences are issued by the Revenue Service. The next steps therefore involve submitting an extensive document package to the regulator:

1. An extract from Georgia’s register of entrepreneurs.
2. A written application for the specific licence type.
3. Details of the legal entity’s beneficiaries — directors, founders and partners. They must have no convictions for economic or serious crimes, so a core document is a certificate of no criminal record for each named person, issued in their country of citizenship. Applicants must also have no outstanding debts to the Georgian tax authorities.
4. Information about the gambling system — the website (domain), a description of the game rules, and technical documentation setting out how games are managed and how financial transactions are protected and recorded.

• The operator’s website must also include mechanisms to filter out Georgian players, plus a disclaimer for them — in both Georgian and English — stating that access is prohibited.

5. Proof of localised management. Although international operators need no premises in the country, they must have two independent addresses: the address from which games are actually managed (the office), and the location of the server infrastructure. Both must be in Georgia, and operators must promptly report any future changes to the regulator.
6. A special authorisation certificate confirming that the software used (for example, random number generators) meets the requirements of Georgia’s Ministry of Finance. These certificates must be obtained in advance from the “designated entity” — a role assigned to Random Systems Georgia (RSG). Prospective licensees must also connect their platform to Georgia’s unified monitoring system.
7. A bank receipt confirming payment of the licence fee, together with information on the origin of the capital confirming that the funds are lawful.

How much the licence costs

The licence fee for the status of international organiser of electronic games is 100,000 Georgian lari per year (around $38,000). The permit is issued for a five-year term. Payment is made annually and always in advance — the first payment for the starting year is due before the application is submitted, the second no later than 12 months from the date the permit is issued, and so on.

• The rates and rules are identical for every activity type. But a company that plans to run both an online casino and a totalizator must obtain two permits and pay the fees twice over.
• One licence covers a single internet domain. If a company runs several websites, a separate fee is payable for each.
• Late payment or misuse of the licence carries a fine of 20,000 lari ($7,600), which may first be doubled and then tripled to 60,000 lari ($23,000). Repeated violations may also lead to the permit being revoked.

Additional costs

As noted above, on top of the licence fee, international operators must obtain an authorisation certificate and connect their gaming system to the national monitoring platform. A company pays for these itself and should factor them into its business plan.

Under current Georgian government regulations, the maximum fee for issuing an authorisation certificate is 35,000 lari ($13,300) per activity type, and for connecting to monitoring — up to 100,000 lari ($38,000). The final figures depend on the complexity of the gaming system.

How long the permit takes

By default, the Revenue Service must review a licence application within 20 days, but it may extend the process by three months — or, in exceptional cases, by six months. Once authorisation and other technical procedures are factored in, going fully legal can take longer:

What taxes operators will pay

One of the main draws for international gaming organisers is Georgia’s comparatively low taxation:

• Corporate profit tax of 5% of GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) — the difference between total bets and payouts. By comparison, the corporate tax rate for Georgian gambling operators is 20% of net profit. Read more about corporate profit tax in Georgia on our blog.
  • A further charge of 0.5% of GGR applies for the upkeep of the monitoring systems. We group it with the taxes only loosely — it is paid to the authorised controller, Random Systems Georgia.
• No VAT for international gaming-platform operators (0%), because export services are VAT-exempt in Georgia. Read about how VAT is charged here.
• Income tax at 20% may additionally apply if the company employs staff in Georgia.

Why this is a competitive offer

Beyond the favourable taxes, Georgia offers international iGaming companies a relatively simple route to market, transparent licensing procedures, and a flexible banking system with a friendly attitude toward cryptocurrencies. It also brings high monitoring standards that help shield operators from the AML/CFT reputational risks common in other jurisdictions.

Conclusions: the key points on gambling licences

• In June 2026, the Parliament of Georgia approved amendments to the laws governing the gaming industry, introducing the concept of an international gambling operator. It is barred from working with Georgian citizens but may host online games for foreigners aged over 18.
• The international operator licence is issued for five years and costs 100,000 lari per year (with possible extra costs to legalise the technical infrastructure).
• The headline benefit for international operators is the low corporate profit tax — just 5% of GGR.