Irakli Gharibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, has instructed ministerial agencies to proceed with increasing taxes on gambling businesses.

The PM declared the command as a primary directive of the Budget Speech, citing concerns that gambling had reached “catastrophic levels”, as Georgians are reported to have wagered GEL 52bn [$19bn] in 2022.

As a direct response to growing concerns, Gharibashvili has instructed the Georgian government to raise corporate tax on gambling profits from 10% to 15%. Further measures outlined will see Georgia adopt an increase on the tax on customer withdrawals from 2% to 5%.

2022 saw PM Garibashvili approve a new decree which prohibited individuals under 25, socially vulnerable citizens, public employees, and those blacklisted by courts or self-restricting from all gambling activities (land-based and online).