Gambling Business in Georgian Resort Batumi

Batumi is an attractive resort city on the Georgian Black Sea with a thriving casino gambling industry.

Georgia fully allows gambling business, in fact Georgian gambling laws are not much different from any other developed country. The gaming industry accounts for a sizeable part of state income and is allowed to thrive and generate even more income for state coffers.

One of the main tourist attractions of Georgia is Batumi, a beautiful city on the Black Sea that has attracted both local and foreign visitors for centuries. Gambling business in Batumi dates back to 1993, when the first casinos after the collapse of the USSR started to appear throughout Georgia.

The first gambling establishments in Batumi can hardly be called casinos, they were limited to just several tables and a few slot machines. Once serious gambling laws have been created by Georgian authorities, casinos in Batumi didn’t close contrary to the majority of other cities. Despite the increase in gambling taxes, casinos in this city managed to find a way to use their natural attractions to lure more visitors and generate more profits.

However, Batumi casinos did not escape the troubles which came in 2004, when Georgian gambling business was in turmoil due to changes in power, laws, and lots of uncertainty in the country as a whole. Most Batumi casinos had to close down then.

Comeback of Batumi casinos and their clientele

Today there are four active casinos in Batumi: Peace, Iveria, Intourist, and Adjara. As usually is the case in former USSR republics, they are all located in big hotels. The games are played in English or Turkish. The majority of casino visitors throughout the year are local residents and Turkish tourists, however, during summer period with lots of tourists around the diversity of casino gamers increase heavily in Batumi.

As for the demographics of Batumi casinos, several categories of people can be outlined. Naturally, all of them want to win, but they are after different targets and goals.

First of all there are casual gamers, who come just for the fun of it. They usually gamble just for fun and excitement, and won’t be too upset if they lose, surely they won’t say no to a big with either. The second category is professional players. These gamers know how to play, have their own strategies, and usually combine playing at real casinos and at online casinos in Georgia. Their ultimate goal is to win.

Another group is problem gamblers. Sometimes these gamers come to a casino without even realizing it. Gambling affects these people just like alcohol or drugs, and they cannot stop without help. Such gamers are the primary concern of Georgian authorities, who are now turning their attention to this growing problem and are contemplating introducing a series of law amendments to minimize the risk of problem gambling development in the country.