Georgian athletes oppose legislative restrictions on gambling, warn of losing funding
The Head of the GGA Mamulaishvili said that if legislative restrictions are approved by the parliament gambling ‘businesses will no longer have the opportunity to make large investments in various fields.’ Photo: GGA/Facebook.
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Georgian athletes have stated earlier today that Georgian sport will be left without funding if the parliament approves legislative restrictions on gambling in the country.
They noted that increased taxes for the business will not allow it to further sponsor sport in Georgia and thus ‘will put many types of sports in a difficult situation and kill prospects for development,’ athletes stated.
At the press conference along with the Head of Georgian Gambling Association (GGA) Giorgi Mamulaishvili, athletes also noted that many of them might give up on their profession as a result of lost funding.
Personally, I feel great support from gambling business, my success is much valued and I don’t want successful athletes to be left without funding,” World and Olympic Champion in weightlifting Lasha Talakhadze said.
World and European champion in Sambo Nino Odzelashvili stated that the gambling business stood by the sport and ‘without funding Georgian sport would not be able to exist.’
Mamulaishvili in his turn said that if legislative restrictions are approved by the parliament gambling ‘businesses will no longer have the opportunity to make large investments in various fields.’
Adoption of this law will harm not only one specific area, but also the population. People who want to play will enter the illegal market and no one should have the illusion that this will change for the better,” Mamulaishvili said.
In November the Georgian government announced new regulations for online gambling businesses and the draft bill of the regulations was submitted to the parliament on December 13.
Per the legislative document online gambling businesses will see up to 70% increase in taxes, gambling advertisements will be banned completely and the lower age limit for gamblers will increase to 25 years of age.
The bill has not yet been adopted by the Georgian parliament.
Ban on gambling advertisements on television will take effect in March, the ruling Georgian Dream MP Irakli Zarkua said earlier today. Television producers have been asking for the deadline to be postponed until September 2022, though Zarkua said ‘the optimal deadline is March’.
The Lelo for Georgia party has proposed a tax exemption for all media outlets for three years. Lelo member Saba Buadze said that amid the difficult economic situation caused by Covid-19, advertising revenues have significantly fallen in the country.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili says the government has plans to increase fees for online gambling businesses – which are mostly foreign owned – as well as to ban ads, and increase the lower age limit for gamblers to 25 years.
The Georgian parliament has approved new legislative regulations for online gambling businesses. Eighty-two MPs supported the changes proposed by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in its third and final reading in a 150-member state legislature.
All gambling ads will be banned in Georgia starting March 1, while citizens under the age of 25 will no longer be able to use gambling websites, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has announced.
Over one million Georgian citizens have been included in the list of individuals banned from online gambling and not allowed in brick-and-mortar casinos in the country since the introduction of new regulations for the gambling business on March 1.
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