Georgia is preparing to formally present its international iGaming jurisdiction ambitions in August 2026, following a major reveal at SBC Summit Tbilisi held on 15 and 16 July.
Government officials and policy advisers are working toward establishing Georgia as a recognised export regime for gambling services, solutions, and technologies across international markets.
The country’s stated goal is to position itself as the regulatory gatekeeper bridging Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, attracting long-term institutional investment rather than simply expanding domestic gambling activity.
Vakhtang Katamadze, Supervisory Board Member of RSG and a key policy stakeholder, addressed audiences at the summit with a clear statement of intent for the country’s regulatory direction.
Katamadze told the gathering: “August will be an opportunity for Georgia to present itself to the global industry, not simply as another licensing jurisdiction, but as a long-term investment destination.”
He added: “We believe the foundations are already in place. Now it is time to demonstrate that Georgia can offer the regulatory certainty and institutional confidence international businesses expect.”
Central to the commercial proposition is a 5% tax on gross gaming revenue for international licence holders, a rate substantially lower than that applied to operators serving Georgian consumers directly.
Katamadze was clear that taxation alone would not define the regime, drawing a sharp distinction from how competitor jurisdictions have positioned themselves in the past.
“We do not want to become the Malta of iGaming; we want to become its Switzerland,” he said, emphasising that regulatory credibility would be the defining feature of the framework.
He stressed that confidence across AML controls, KYC procedures, and supervisory standards would be essential, stating: “The licence is only part of what Georgia is offering. The real product is confidence.”
Without that institutional trust from governments, financial institutions, and overseas regulators, Katamadze acknowledged that no licensing regime can establish long-term credibility regardless of how competitive its tax structure may be.
Georgia’s proposition is further supported by competitive operating costs, a young and technically capable workforce, and an already established technology ecosystem that positions it as an alternative to Europe’s traditional licensing centres.
Katamadze is focused firmly on the next phase of attracting substantive long-term investment and licences through a programme built on consistent enforcement and meaningful regulatory oversight rather than legislative ambition alone.
He concluded: “Success won’t be measured by how many licences Georgia issues. It will be measured by whether the next generation of global gaming businesses chooses to build its headquarters, technology and investment here. That’s the market we are competing for.”
