The Bill "On Change to the Law On Lottery, Gambling, and Gaming" defines the concept of a person addicted to gambling and a prohibited person and provides for the player to be under 25. The bill was discussed in the second hearing by the Committee on Sectoral Economics and Economic Policy with the accompanying legislative package.
The amendments also define the list of dependents and the list of prohibited persons, the regulation of online gambling, and the prohibition of gambling by public officials.
Davit Songhulashvili, a member of parliament, said that the bill would take into account the high public interests of the society and reduce the risks of players' involvement in gambling and the deterioration of the social background. He said the gambling business poses a much bigger challenge than the benefits it gives, so it is necessary to adopt the said legislative change at this stage.
The speaker talked about the changes made to the draft after the first reading. In particular, the submitted version considers the Legal Committee's remarks in terms of clarifying the terminology, as well as the remarks of the legislative technique and editorial nature. The note of the broadcasters is also taken into account, and the effective date originally indicated in the draft law is determined as of March 1, 2022, instead of January 1, 2022.
Representatives of the gambling business, broadcasters, public organizations, and the Ministry of Finance participated in the discussion of the bill.
After the issue was resolved, the committee supported the discussion of the bill in the second reading in the plenary session.
