Georgia gambling demand falls 28% in nine months: Report
Georgia’s regulated gambling market recorded ten consecutive months of falling revenue between June 2025 and March 2026, while user demand dropped nearly 28 per cent over the same period. New figures from Blask, which tracks brand-level search activity to measure consumer interest, show the country’s gambling sector losing momentum on both fronts since the middle of last year.
What the data shows
The Blask Index for Georgia, which measures aggregated user interest across all gambling brands in the country using attributed search activity, reached a peak of 18.65 million in May 2025. By February 2026, it had dropped to 13.43 million. That is a fall of nearly 28 per cent in nine months.
Estimated monthly market revenue followed the same direction. In May 2025, Georgia’s gambling market generated $47.07 million. By March 2026, that figure stood at $37.57 million, a decline of roughly 20 per cent.
The gap between the two figures is significant. User demand is contracting nearly one and a half times faster than revenue. When search interest declines at that pace relative to income, it points to a shrinking pool of active users rather than a broad drop in spending per player.
Regulation timeline
The fall in both demand and revenue tracks closely with a series of regulatory changes the Georgian government introduced in the years prior to 2025, the effects of which became measurable in market data from mid-year onwards.
From March 2024, casino and sportsbook advertising on television, radio, outdoor media, and the internet became illegal in almost all circumstances across Georgia. The only permitted channels are operators’ own licensed websites, sports event venues through formal sponsorship arrangements, and on-premises displays at licensed locations.
Outside of these specific exclusions, it is illegal to distribute gambling advertisements via electronic communications. The Revenue Service is in charge of enforcing this law and has the authority to suspend or cancel operator permits, block unauthorised domains, and issue administrative consequences.
For operators that previously relied on paid digital and broadcast advertising to bring in new players, this effectively closed the main acquisition pipeline.
The steady decline in Blask Index scores from May 2025 onwards is consistent with a market where top-of-funnel discovery has been severely restricted.
Earlier reforms had already raised the legal gambling age to 25, increased taxes on online gambling businesses by 70 per cent, and barred public employees and self-excluded individuals from participating.
Operators are also required to pay GEL 100,000, equivalent to approximately $36,974, for each game they offer. The government introduced these restrictions as part of Georgia’s conditions for EU candidate status under the European Council’s 12-point framework.
Why revenue has not fallen as fast
The slower pace of revenue decline compared to demand tells its own story. Georgia’s gambling tax law, updated in December 2024, introduced a 20 per cent tax on gross revenues from systemic-electronic games, alongside annual permit renewal fees. With a higher tax take built into each transaction, headline revenue figures now reflect more government income per unit of activity, which can mask the underlying compression in operator earnings.
As per report, in 2020, Georgia’s gaming industry brought in 32 billion lari, or more than $10 billion, compared to just 30 million lari in 2006. The sector contributes over 300 million lari in taxes a year and employs nearly 10,000 people. Because of the magnitude of the industry, even a significant decline in the number of users leaves a sizable short-term revenue base.
The remaining active users also appear to be higher-value players. As casual and first-time players drop out of a market with limited advertising exposure, the active base trends towards more engaged gamblers who spend more per session. This compresses the volume of players while holding up average revenue per user, at least temporarily.
Market pool that keeps shrinking
The data does not show a one-off correction. Every month from June 2025 through to February 2026 recorded a lower Blask Index score than the month before. The slight uptick to 13.79 million in March 2026 broke that sequence, but the level remains 26 per cent below the May 2025 peak.
Temur Mikeladze, Chairman of Georgian operator Crocobet, said in July 2025 that Georgia and the wider Caucasus region will eventually reach a growth plateau, and that operators with experience in the market are positioning themselves to use it as a launchpad into newer territories rather than relying on continued domestic growth.
Global operators including Betsson Group, Entain, and Flutter have invested in Georgia’s market, drawn by its technology-focused tax incentives and regulatory framework. Whether those investments hold up against a sustained contraction in user demand will depend on how quickly the market finds a floor.
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