Parliament approves gambling law changes despite opposition from Church, Public Defender

Georgia’s parliament has approved amendments to gambling legislation despite opposition from the Georgian Orthodox Church’s Patriarchate and the Public Defender, raising the minimum share of foreign participants in international gambling tournaments from 70% to 80%.

The legislative package was passed in its third and final reading under an expedited procedure on Wednesday, with 73 MPs voting in favour and five against.

Under the new rules, at least 80% of participants in an international gambling tournament must be foreign nationals.

The amendments also exempt organisers from the gambling business levy if they use a casino gaming table exclusively for an international tournament with a prize pool exceeding 3 million lari.

Violations of permit conditions carry a fine of 50,000 lari, while organising or conducting an international gambling tournament without authorisation is punishable by a 150,000-lari fine.

Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze, head of the Patriarchate’s public relations service, said the initiative had come as a “complete surprise” because the Church had not been consulted beforehand. 

“The Patriarchate has been a direct initiator and one of the key participants in the process of developing and introducing regulations in the gambling sector since 2017,” Jagmaidze said, adding that the Church could not remain on the sidelines of the issue.

He said the Patriarchate had not yet held extensive discussions on the latest legislation, but that he largely agreed with the Public Defender’s arguments. He expressed hope that dialogue with the bill’s sponsors would produce a positive outcome