The government of Georgia has finalised a comprehensive sweep of individuals excluded from participating in gambling activities.

In 2025, Georgia enacted new executive orders amending  the Georgian Law on the “Organisation of Lotteries, Gambling and Games of Chance”, as demanded by former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

The changes saw Georgia’s Revenue Service tasked with the “surveillance of gambling licences”, including responsibility for managing the ‘exclusion registry‘ of Georgian citizens.

In 2024, enforcement measures authorised by PM Garibashvili ordered the government to raise Georgia’s legal gambling age to 25 — the highest threshold in Eastern Europe.

Furthermore, the Revenue Service was instructed by the DREAMS government to register all public-sector employees and citizens with criminal records under the national exclusion register.

Garibashvili was replaced in office in 2025 by PM Irakli Kobakhidze, though regulatory continuity has been maintained under the ruling DREAM government, particularly in relation to tightening controls on gambling and limiting its engagement with citizens.

Following a full sweep completed in 2025, the Revenue Service announced that it had registered 1,577,247 individuals in the exclusion registry as of December 2025.

As reported by SBC Eurasia, this figure includes approximately 36,000 citizens who have voluntarily self-excluded after identifying themselves as vulnerable to gambling-related harms.

The Revenue Service also noted that 62 individuals were added to the registry under direct court orders, while the majority of exclusions were processed via the Revenue Service’s website or its online registration platform, Videocall.rs.ge.

The total number of excluded citizens means the Revenue Service has met the target set by former PM Garibashvili of excluding around 1.5 million citizens from gambling — amounting to a prohibition affecting more than 50% of Georgia’s population.

Further enforcement measures introduced in 2025 require Georgian gambling venues to implement biometric user identification and conduct centralised age verification using government databases.

In addition, Georgia introduced a new tax regime in 2025 under which gambling licences are subject to a 15% levy on GGR, while withdrawals by Georgian citizens are taxed at 5% personal income tax  for foreign players’ charges are exempt.

Under the mandate of the ruling DREAM government, gambling continues to be positioned as a legitimate component of Georgia’s economy, primarily oriented toward tourists and foreign visitors rather than domestic participation.

The DREAM government has made clear that gambling must not encroach upon Georgian society or citizens lives, welfare, or financial security at risk. The principle is upheld by PM Irakli Kobakhidze, who continues to underpin Georgia’s increasingly restrictive approach to gambling regulation, enforcement, and citizen protection.