Georgia’s parliament passed a law on Monday, which will allow casinos to organise ‘international gambling tournaments,’ and offer financial incentives for participants and organisers, once a prize pool exceeds ₾3 million ($1.2 million). The ruling Georgian Dream party introduced and fast-tracked the bill through parliament. It passed in the third reading, with 73 votes for and 5 against. For Georgia, the only opposition group in parliament, did not support the bill. Under the legislation, once a tournament’s prize pool exceeds ₾3 million, foreign nationals’ winnings are exempt from taxation and organisers do not have to pay the normal business fee for gaming tables. Those who violate licensing requirements for such tournaments will receive a ₾ 50,000 fine ( $19,000). The Patriarchate and the Public Defender have questioned the move to encourage such tournaments in an Orthodox Christian country, with the former’s spokesperson saying that it would be impossible for them to stay on the sidelines of the process. The Patriarchate plans to meet October 30 to discuss the legislation before announcing their final position, Metropolitan Anton of Vani and Baghdati told IPN . Archpriest Andria Jaghmaidze, head of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service, told IPN that the bill came as a complete shock to them, despite their prior involvement in gambling regulations. ‘The Georgian Patriarchate was the direct initiator and one of the main participants in the process that began in 2017 and aimed to develop and introduce regulations for the gambling sector.’ ‘We are also worried and will come up with some common opinion, the Patriarchate will definitely state its view on this issue. Of course, we cannot be indifferent,’ Metropolitan Anton of Van and Baghdati told IPN. He said that the Patriachate will meet later this week, on Friday, to discuss their approach. ‘As superficial as I look at it, I see threats in some way. The Patriarchate will meet tomorrow and express our opinion. We are not involved in the matter, I saw it on TV, there was talk about it, how and in what way, of course, we will discuss it and express our opinion. To tell you the truth, many things are unclear, but maybe they will explain it to us.’ Parliament’s Economic Policy Committee chair, Shota Berekashvili has defended the initiative, saying that the tournaments ‘are, in a sense, similar to sporting competitions. Such tournaments are held in many European countries, and their main target is to develop the tourism industry. ‘Participants gather together, and there can be thousands of them. These events are organized particularly during the off-season, when economic activity in the tourism sector is low, helping generate additional economic activity. ‘This is not gambling in the direct sense of the word.’ Giorgi Sharashidze, a For Georgia representative, claimed to IPN that ‘Georgian Dream is attempting to turn Georgia into a gambling country. The party justifies this by claiming it will promote tourism. ‘With all due respect, what kind of tourism development are we talking about? If we want tourism, fine — Georgian Dream could legalise prostitution, too, and tourism would flourish. It could also legalise drug use, and tourism would flourish even further.’ During the bill’s second reading, representatives of People’s Power, a parliamentary group closely linked to Georgian Dream, questioned whether it was necessary to fast track the law. Eka Sepashvili highlighted the ‘social cost that the adoption of this draft law may cause.’ ‘We are talking about the fact that the draft law may lead to unwanted popularisation of these games, which is an important issue for society’, Sepashvili said.