Batumi’s municipal budget received 15.3 million GEL from gambling businesses in the first quarter of 2026, according to published revenue figures for the city. The total is slightly below the 16.8 million GEL collected in the same three-month period of 2025, when Q1 set a record for early-year casino and gaming receipts.
Nearly half of the Q1 2026 intake came from slot machines, with the remainder split between casino table games and lottery operations. Officials do not publish venue-by-venue breakdowns in the headline quarterly totals, but the split suggests slot floors continue to dominate day-to-day turnover on the Black Sea coast.
For context, Batumi’s full-year gambling revenue in 2025 reached 73.9 million GEL, making gaming one of the city’s significant local-tax streams alongside tourism and hospitality. Adjara’s capital has developed a cluster of licensed casinos and entertainment venues aimed largely at foreign visitors, particularly from Turkey and other regional markets, and municipal accounts treat gaming levies as a recurring budget line rather than a one-off windfall.
The modest dip from last year’s Q1 peak does not necessarily signal a trend for the full year — seasonal travel patterns, currency movements and the opening or refurbishment of individual properties can shift quarterly totals. City and regional authorities have not indicated any change to the licensing or tax framework behind the figures.
For residents and expats, the numbers reflect how much of Batumi’s public revenue continues to depend on the regulated gambling sector, even as the city promotes broader tourism and conference business along the waterfront.
