Georgia - Revenue Service and Restrictions

(Section: "Markets and Jurisdictions")

1) Market picture and organ roles

The Ministry of Finance is a state policy in the field of gambling.
Revenue Service (RS) - administration of taxes and fees, electronic reporting, control of payment discipline, verification and sanctions circuit.
Municipalities/regions - address permits for surface facilities (zones, town planning requirements, operating mode).
Financial Monitoring (AML) - AML/CFT coordination, methodology and reporting of suspicious transactions.
Banks/PSP and communication - execution of orders to block illegal domains/payments, CCM/transaction filters.

2) Admission model: offline and online

Offline: casinos, machine rooms, betting points, bingo/lotteries - by address permits; requirements for the room, CCTV, cash register, registration of tables/machines and personnel qualifications.
Online: remote provision of games/bets - subject to appropriate license/permit, certified platform and RS/supervised integrations.
Key persons and owners: fit & proper, disclosure of beneficiaries/ownership structure and source of funds.
Local presence: legal entity, accounts in Georgian banks responsible for AML/RG/interaction with regulators.

3) Restrictions and prohibitions (article focus)

3. 1 Age and categories of persons

Age: Participation in gambling - from the age of 25 (strict age verification).

• persons under 25 years of age;
• persons on restriction/self-exclusion registers;
• recipients of certain types of social assistance/benefits;
• separate categories of civil servants and/or employees according to the lists;
• persons by decision of the court/guardianship authorities (if applicable).
• The operator is obliged to check the status of the user at registration, each entry and before key financial transactions.

3. 2 Advertising and promo

Severe advertising restrictions: ban on targeting minors and vulnerable groups, aggressive offers and "guaranteed winnings," restriction of channels and formats; mandatory RG markings and transparent T & C.
Affiliates: only allowed for licensed brands; requires pre-moderation of creatives, a log of compliance evidence (screenshots/URL/dates/geo), quick recall of violating materials.

3. 3 Payments and locks

Banks/PSPs are required to block transfers to unlicensed operators; communication providers - restrict access to their domains/mirrors.
Operators and affiliates are responsible for rounds (including redirects/account farming, gray payment routes).

4) Taxes and fees (high level)

Special gambling payments/fees - by type of games and channels; for offline additionally fixed fees for game positions (tables/machines) and/or object.
Online: basis - GGR/NGR taking into account local rules for reflecting bonuses, cancellations, cashout/void; separate accounting by verticals.
Corporate taxes - according to the general regime; VAT usually does not apply to bets/winnings, but is valid for related services (IT/marketing/hosting).
Frequency - monthly/quarterly declarations through the RS e-cabinet + annual financial statements.

5) AML/KYC and identification

KYC/KYB: identification and age (25 +), verification of beneficiaries, sanctions/PEP, source of funds by triggers; proof of ownership of the payment means.
Transaction monitoring: limits, anomalies (pursuit of losses, fast re-deposits, night activity), connectivity of accounts/cards/devices; escalation of STR/SAR to authorities.
Storage: retention KYC-dossier/logs, unchanging logs of key events, personal data protection (GDPR-compatible level).

6) Responsible Gaming (RG) and self-exclusion

Self-limiting: deposit/loss/time limits, timeouts/" cooling, "an understandable RG showcase and access to help.
Self-exclusion: centralized mechanism/registry; the operator is obliged to check the status before admission to the game and before payments; marketing to the self-excluded is prohibited.
Early diagnosis: behavioral scoring (frequent deposits, sharp growth of bets, night activity) with escalation of cases to the RG team and the possibility of soft/hard restrictions.

7) IT requirements and supervisory access

Certification: RNG/settlement modules, platform/wallet, reporting showcases.
Logging: immutable WORM logs along the chain "rate → calculation → payment → adjustment," time synchronization.
Regulator access: secure uploads/APIs, test accounts, response to RS/supervision requests to established SLAs.
Reliability/IS: redundancy, DR/BCP (target RPO/RTO), encryption at rest/in transit, RBAC/SoD, pentests/scans on schedule.

8) Checks and sanctions

Office: reconciliation of reporting and payments, analysis of GGR/NGR anomalies, monitoring compliance with prohibitions on participation and advertising norms.

On-site/IT audit: sampling sessions/transactions, checking cash and logs, staff interviews, "mystery shoppers."

Sanctions: fines/additional charges, prescriptions for correcting processes (AML/RG/advertising/UX), blocking domains/payments, suspension/cancellation of permits.
Mitigation: voluntary disclosure of errors, corrective plans, strengthening of internal controls.

9) Entry roadmap (operator & provider playbook)

1. Strategy: choose a portfolio (casino/betting/lottery), channel (offline/online), target regions/locations, partners.

2. Legal structure: Georgian legal entity, beneficiaries, bank accounts; Assigning Owners (AML/RG/Reporting)

3. Application: a package of documents (fit & proper, financial stability, platform technical description, RG/AML policies, reporting and security plan).
4. IT circuit: RNG/module certification, WORM logs, API/uploads for RS, tax base calculation windows (GGR/NGR/handle).
5. AML/RG: data providers (sanctions/PEP), SoF triggers, limits/timeouts/self-exclusion, RG case log.
6. Marketing/affiliates: pre-moderation of creatives, filter of prohibited categories, geo/age caps, compliance journal.
7. UAT: test cases of tax accruals, correct accounting of bonuses/void/cashout, scenarios of exceeding limits and locks.
8. Go-Live: freeze configurations, runbook incidents, SLA with PSP/communication providers.
9. First 90 days: rhythm of declarations, reconciliation of otchetnost↔billing (<0.5%), internal audit AML/RG/IS.

10) Compliance checklists

Licensing and Finance

• Valid permits/licenses; responsible persons appointed
• Declaration/payment calendar in RS; discrepancy control <0.5%
• Separate accounting offline/online and by vertical

AML/KYC & RG

• KYC/KYB with 25 + check and sanctions/PEP; funding source procedures
• Deposit/loss/time limits, timeouts; self-exclusion registry integration
• STR/SAR logs, CUS/log storage periods; personnel training

Engineering and safety

• RNG Certificates/Platforms; version control, secure SDLC
• WORM logs, time synchronization; DR/BCP tests
• Encryption, RBAC/SoD, regular pentests/scans

Marketing & Affiliates

• RG-marking, prohibition of aggressive offers, pre-moderation of creatives
• Compliance log (screenshots/URL/dates/geo), quick recall process
• Filters on prohibited categories and self-excluded

Inhibits/interlocks

• Filters for participation of prohibited categories; SLA on stop solutions
• Route payments to licensed brands only; Domain/PSP block lists
• Procedures for responding to prescriptions and incidents

11) First year KPIs

Fiscal: timely filing ≥99%; discrepancy otchetnost↔billing <0.5%.
AML/KYC: average verification time; share of false positives; SLA STR/SAR.
RG: proportion of players with active limits; Self-exclusion TTR <1 min; the proportion of RG complaints.
Information security/reliability: MTTR incidents; execution of DR tests; closing critical vulnerabilities.
Marketing: 0 violations of advertising restrictions; 100% filtering of prohibited categories.

12) FAQ

Is it possible to participate in online games for persons 21-24 years old?
No, it isn't. The legal threshold is 25 +; the operator is obliged to check the age and block access to non-conforming persons.

What categories of citizens are not allowed to participate?
The law and by-laws establish lists (including persons under 25 years old, self-excluded, some recipients of social assistance, certain categories of employees/employees, etc.). The operator is obliged to automatically cut off such cases.

Is affiliate marketing allowed?
Yes - for licensed brands with strict observance of advertising restrictions and maintaining a compliance log. Promotion of unlicensed sites is prohibited.

How to take into account bonuses in NGR/GGR?
According to local methods of reflecting bonuses, cancellations and cashout/void; incorrect accounting leads to additional charges and sanctions.

Note

Rates, lists of documents, integration specifications and advertising/social restrictions are periodically specified. Before submitting applications and starting operations, check the current RS forms and existing clarifications to avoid additional charges, prescriptions and stoppages of activities.