Entain Exits Georgian Market Citing New 20% Turnover Tax on Foreign Operators
Entain has confirmed it will wind down its Georgian operations by September following the Caucasus nation's introduction of a punitive turnover-based tax targeting offshore-licensed operators. The withdrawal makes Entain the third major European operator to exit the market in 2026.
Entain announced Friday that it will cease operations in Georgia by 30 September 2026, becoming the latest international operator to abandon the market following sweeping fiscal reforms passed by the Georgian parliament in March. The company, which operated locally through its Crystalbet-competing brand acquired in 2022, cited the newly enforced 20% turnover tax on operators without a domestic corporate presence as making continued operation commercially unviable.
The tax reform, championed by Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili, replaced the previous 10% gross gaming revenue model with a turnover-based structure aimed at pushing international operators to establish taxable Georgian entities or exit entirely. Local operators Crystalbet, Adjarabet, and Europebet — all with substantial domestic infrastructure — retain the more favorable GGR-based regime, a bifurcation that European industry body EGBA has publicly criticized as discriminatory under Georgia's EU Association Agreement obligations.
Entain CFO Rob Wood told investors the exit would result in a £34 million impairment charge in Q3 results but would have negligible impact on group EBITDA, with Georgian operations contributing less than 0.4% of consolidated revenue in 2025. The company joins Betsson, which withdrew in April, and Kindred, which suspended new registrations for Georgian players in May pending a strategic review. Analysts at Regulus Partners estimate the combined exits will hand roughly €180 million in annual GGR to the three dominant local operators.
The Georgian National Gambling Business Association has lobbied for a partial rollback of the turnover model, warning that reduced competition will accelerate channelization toward unlicensed offshore sites already popular among Georgian bettors. A parliamentary review of the tax regime is scheduled for November, though government officials have signaled little appetite for reversal given the reform generated an estimated 340 million lari in additional revenue during its first quarter of enforcement.