Georgia (the country) has a long-established and now heavily restricted gambling culture, built on a 1990 legalisation, a 2000s online boom, and resort casinos in Batumi nicknamed the “Las Vegas of the Black Sea.” Sports betting and online slots are the mass-market staples, while Batumi’s casinos cater to foreign tourists — especially visitors from Turkey, where gambling is mostly illegal. Since 2021–2022, public attitudes and policy have shifted sharply toward harm reduction: a citizen gambling age of 25, an advertising ban, higher taxes and mass exclusion registries.

A short history

There is a history of gambling facilities in Georgia dating back to 1921, but the activity was banned during the Soviet era. After independence, gambling was legal from 1990 as the laws were liberalised. The real transformation came in the 2000s, when online betting and casino brands scaled quickly; by 2013, a minimum of 1.4% of the state budget came from gambling sources.

The online boom and its operators

The internet era produced Georgia’s biggest brands. Adjarabet, Crystalbet and Europebet became market leaders, and their success attracted global consolidators — Adjarabet is now owned by Flutter Entertainment (which took full ownership in 2021), Crystalbet by Entain, and Europebet by the Betsson Group (rebranded to Betsson Georgia in 2025). The sector grew into one of Georgia’s largest private industries by turnover.

  • Sports betting — football above all, plus other sports; the historic gateway product.
  • Online slots — a dominant online category.
  • Casino table games — roulette, blackjack and poker, online and live.
  • Land-based casinos — concentrated in Batumi and Tbilisi.
  • Bingo, lotto and totalisator/prize games — traditional formats.

Batumi: the Black Sea casino hub

Batumi’s economy leans heavily on tourism and gambling, earning it the nickname the “Las Vegas of the Black Sea.” Much of the play is driven by foreign tourists, especially from Turkey, given Batumi’s relative proximity to Turkey and the fact that gambling in Turkey is mostly illegal.

Attitudes today

Georgian attitudes have cooled sharply. Following rapid growth and rising concern about gambling harm, the government raised the citizen gambling age to 25 (the highest threshold in Eastern Europe), banned gambling advertising across TV, websites and outdoor placements from 1 March 2022, raised taxes, and placed public servants and socially vulnerable people on exclusion registries. By the end of 2025 the national exclusion registry reportedly listed over 1.57 million citizens.

18+ (25+ for Georgian citizens). Gambling can be addictive — please play responsibly.

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