Online Gambling Legalized in Georgia of the Former USSR

The online gambling market in the former soviet republic of Georgia is rapidly growing and advertisements for online poker rooms and online casinos can be seen on billboards all over the capital Tbilisi.

Online casinos and poker rooms are legal in Georgia and all that is required in order to get a Georgian online casino is paying a fee of 5 million GEL (just over $3 million) in order to obtain a casino registration from the Georgian government. Only those that have a license for operating a land casino can also operate an online casino as part of the same casino license.

The recent year has seen increased numbers of Georgia residents that are gambling online. The main game that draws the most players is online poker that enjoys immense popularity in Georgia.

Many poker players who do not live near a land casino have discovered that as long as they have an internet connected computer they are able to access their favorite poker games online and can play them for much lower stakes than those offered in land casinos.

International online gaming operators have also discovered the Georgian market for two main reasons; firstly the emerging Georgian market which is very appealing to online gaming operators and secondly they are drawn by how easy it is to obtain a Georgian gambling license compared to other international gambling licenses.