Relocation to Georgia: taxes, poker rooms, community.

What is the Status of Poker in Georgia

Georgia is one of the few former USSR states where gambling has been legalised. The country is home to dozens of casinos and poker clubs. 

In Georgia, gambling is permitted, but poker faces challenges due to the intricacies of tax legislation

There is also an opportunity to play online on local platforms such as Adjarabet or Europebet. Most international brands accept residents of the country: POKEROK, 888Poker, RedStar Poker, Pokerdom, CoinPoker, Winamax. Before the change in tax legislation, international poker festivals such as the World Poker Tour, Russian Poker Tour, and Eurasian Poker Tour were regularly held in the country. 

The legal framework for the gambling industry was established in 2005 when the Georgian Parliament adopted the Law on the Organisation of Lotteries, Gambling, and Other Prize Games. In recent years, conservative sentiments have been growing in the country, and there have been calls to ban gambling in Georgia. The state is not in a hurry to shut down this profitable business but is tightening the regulations. Georgia has increased the cost of licenses and introduced hefty fines. At the same time, they raised the age limit for local citizens: only Georgians over 25 years old are allowed into casinos. Violation of the rule results in a $3,700 fine for the establishment.

To obtain legal status, a company must register and obtain a license from a specialised department of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia. The cost reaches $1,800,000. Many online poker platforms have declined legalisation and remain in the 'grey zone'.

What Taxes Do Poker Players Pay

In Georgia, tax is paid on winnings over 1,000 lari ($375 at the time of writing). Amounts up to 1,000 lari are not taxed. If a poker player wins more, the state will take 20% of the excess amount. There is no need to personally go to the tax office and write a report: the game organiser withholds the payment amount. Here is how the system works in practice: a poker player wins 20,000 lari on Adjarabet. The first thousand will be ignored by the tax office. From the remaining 19,000 lari, the room will withhold 20%. As a result, 15,200 lari will be credited to the player's account. 

The high tax burden has forced many poker festivals to leave Georgia. Previously, stages of WPT and RPT were held in the country. From 2017 to 2025, major tournament series did not visit Georgia. The trend was broken by the Eurasian Poker Tour with a prize fund of $800,000.

The winner of the Main Event EAPT in Batumi — Evgeniy Kim — took home $68,000

The situation with winnings on sites without a Georgian license is more complicated. Poker rooms do not report to the Georgian revenue service. If you want to legalise your winnings, you can pay 20% of the amounts withdrawn over a year.

Which Rooms Accept Georgian Residents

Most international platforms register players from Georgia. Not operating in the country: PokerStars, Unibet, and Guts Poker. A brief overview of available rooms was collected in the table.

POKEROK. An industry leader with: hundreds of thousands online, record tournament series, and a weekly $100,000 freeroll. The room was launched in 2016 and is part of the Good Game network. The room organises 1,000 tournaments daily. About 10% of POKEROK's schedule is dedicated to Omaha events. Several times a year, POKEROK holds online festivals with guarantees from $100,000,000. In 2024, Good Game acquired the rights to the World Series of Poker brand. Over five years, the network will sponsor the WSOP and award bracelets in online tournaments. 

RedStar Poker. A leading room in the iPoker network. Accepting players since 2005. It gathers tens of thousands of players at the tables in the evening. RSP's daily schedule includes hundreds of tournaments. Almost all MTTs are played according to NL Hold'em rules. RedStar Poker does not organise large festivals. RSP's record prize fund was played out in winter 2025. The largest iPoker Network series allocated €10,000,000. However, RedStar regularly holds local festivals with guarantees of up to €5,000,000.

Pokerdom. A popular Russian brand with a solid online presence. It has been operating since 2014 and offers a large selection of tournaments at different levels. Pokerdom held its most expensive series in 2024. The anniversary festival featured a prize pool of 150,000,000 roubles. Each month, the room organises several leaderboards for tournament players. The combined prize fund of the promotion amounts to 1,700,000 roubles.

PokerKing. A room in the Winning Poker network. It started in 2011. At peak times, up to 20,000 people play on PokerKing's tables. It conducts hundreds of tournaments a day, focusing on no-limit Texas Hold'em. It regularly organises online festivals with substantial prize pools. The record is held by the Online Super Series XL with a guarantee of $60,000,000. Several times a year, PokerKing holds The Venom tournaments. The prize pool of such an MTT reaches up to $10,000,000. The tournament champion walks away with at least $1,000,000. 

PokerStars exited the Georgian market in 2022 due to tax increases and advertising bans. Other offshore rooms continue to operate

888Poker. A British room with a 25-year history. It offers a good ratio of guarantees to players in tournaments. Every day the platform hosts over 100 MTT. There are no astronomical prize tournaments on 888Poker. The room is more suitable for players of low and medium stakes. 888Poker also doesn't organise large tournament series. The record of recent years belongs to XL Autumn with a guarantee of $2,000,000. Note the Freerolls Festival promotion. It allows daily participation in free tournaments with decent prizes.

Other rooms registering Georgian players include: Winamax, CoinPoker, TigerGaming, WPT Global, Stake, Up Poker, Phenom Poker, BCPoker. 

Local brands also operate in the country. Let's take a closer look at them.

Europebet or Betsson Georgia. Betsson Group acquired Europebet in 2015 but changed the name only in 2025. Currently, the platform uses both names. The Georgian room accepts players from: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan. Users from Russia and Ukraine are not registered on the platform. Betsson Georgia develops all types of gambling: poker, sports betting, online casino. New players are offered a first deposit bonus up to $375.

You can play on the platform in: cash games, tournaments, and spins. Every day Europebet organises about 20 MTT. They don't boast big prize pools: the guarantee of the largest midweek tournament is $375. The room also holds 2 freerolls daily with a prize fund of $375. 

Adjarabet. Part of the bookmaker company of the same name. The company has been operating since 1998. Previously, the room was part of poker networks: Dollaro and Microgaming Poker Network. Now Adjarabet is an independent platform. The room's audience prefers cash games. There are no big tournaments in the schedule, nor significant promotions. Adjarabet offers new players a first deposit bonus up to $20.

The local licence is the main advantage of Europebet, Adjarabet, and Leader-bet. In terms of bonuses and tournament guarantees, these rooms lag far behind international brands

Leader-bet. The company has been operating since 2014. Poker is a secondary focus for Leader-bet. The platform prioritises sports betting. The poker room offers: cash games, tournaments, and spins. New players are attracted by a first deposit bonus of 100% up to $375 and several freerolls. The tournament situation is poor even compared to the guarantees of Adjarabet and Europebet.

Where to Play Offline

The update in gambling legislation has hit live poker hard. The 20% tax made the classic game unprofitable. As a result, Georgian casinos abandoned poker in favour of other gambling activities. A paradoxical situation has arisen: there are dozens of gambling establishments in the country, but live poker is almost absent. In the past, hold'em tables were offered by: Shangri-La, Royal Poker Club, Eclipse Poker Club, Adjara Poker Club, Mandarin Poker Club.

Live festivals are gradually returning to Georgia. The first sign was the Eurasian Poker Tour in 2024 in Batumi. In April 2026, the fourth EAPT series in two years will take place. Eclipse will host it once again. The festival guarantee will exceed $1,000,000. A total of 34 tournaments will be held as part of the series. The Main Event will feature a prize pool of $350,000. Alongside the tournaments, Eclipse offers round-the-clock cash games.

The Eclipse Casino is making tremendous efforts to bring live poker back to the country 

For current information about poker in Georgia, local player communities can offer advice. Proximity to Russia, reasonable living costs, and a friendly attitude towards gambling have made the country an attractive relocation destination. You can find information on poker-specific forums or regional Telegram chats.

To succeed in a tournament series or relocate to another country, one must learn to profit from poker. FF educational programmes will help achieve this goal. FF Start introduces the rules, basic concepts, and poker math. Player's Path allows one to progress to a high level and become a strong professional. If you plan to pursue a poker career, join the FF team.