Casino Black Opal is a recent addition to the exciting gambling scene in Tbilisi, Georgia. Historically, Georgia has enjoyed great freedom in terms of entertainment and always attracted thousands of tourists from Europe and Asia. In 1990s, when there were a lot of regulations and restrictions within the gambling industry, Tbilisi was one of very few destinations in the Soviet Union that still presented gaming options and grand casinos. Since there, the market regulations eased a bit globally, but Tbilisi, Georgia still remains as one of the premier casino destinations in European region.
The very first casino in Tbilisi dates back to 1921. When Georgia became part of the Soviet Union many of the facilities were closed down. It was not until the early 2000s when casino scene came back to the capital city Tbilisi. Since then, country has observed an exponential growth accumulating at least 1.4% of the state budget from the gambling resources. The researches show that at least 100 million GEL was coming towards the budget every year.
At this point, there are over 100 gaming entities registered officially. However, around 30-35 of them are considered as big players on the market. Black Opal is one of the biggest casinos in Tbilisi, Georgia. The number of casinos and gambling houses keeps on growing in the country and it becomes more and more challenging for existing businesses to remain competitive.
All businesses in the field are privately held companies. Some of the casinos are franchises of the global casino chains, especially the ones in Asia. You will find 60% of the Tbilisi casinos located in the hotels, which is a very common practice worldwide. The only state-owned gambling company is “Georgian Lottery Company”. The owner of its majority of the shares (70%) is Georgian Post. The rest of the shares belongs to Lexor Capital (British Virgin Islands).
There is an official governing body in Georgia which issues permits and gambling licenses while also regulating and supervising the casino activities. This is Georgia Revenue Service, or otherwise known as Joint Tax and Customs Administration. The two key principles of the regulatory body and its legislation are:
The legislation allows following gambling services to be conducted in the country: