13:00, 22 September 2009

Georgian parliament to consider exemption of Batumi casino from annual fees

The new law on gambling business in Batumi will be discussed at the autumn session of the parliament of Georgia. According to the bill, all the hotels with more that 100 rooms will be exempted for 10 years from the annual license fee, which in Batumi makes 250,000 laris.

Tea Begiashvili, head of the PR Department of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, told the "Caucasian Knot" that the total annual fee from the casinos working at large hotels in Batumi, which is planned to be lifted, reaches 5 million laris.

Tengiz Seidze, head of the Budgetary Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Adzharian Autonomous Republic, said, in answer to the question why the bill refers to hotel casinos that hotels are more attractive to potential clients - tourists from the countries of Near East, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Now, Batumi has 91 gambling entities (slot machine halls, totes, etc.), of them only 2 hotel casinos (in "Intourist Palace" and "Sputnik").

Author: Beslan Kmuzov

Source: CK correspondent