On January 22, 2020, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria met with lawyer Ana Dolidze and representatives of the Gambling Campaign, who briefed the Public Defender on the petition registered on the governmental web portal.

Authors and representatives of the campaign demand that the Public Defender support regulation of gambling within a strict framework.

After the meeting, the Public Defender told reporters that Georgian legislation, including the newly adopted Code on the Rights of the Child, prohibits harmful influence on children and juveniles, though in terms of regulation of gambling, we do not yet have appropriate legislative safeguards to protect juveniles.

“I, the Public Defender, as the supervisor of the Code on the Rights of the Child, believe that there are serious gaps in terms of children’s access to gambling. Online games are completely uncontrollable and accessible by everyone; advertising is also unregulated and despite the fact that many of our citizens are involved in and depend on gambling, there are no appropriate rehabilitation services that would help them overcome this harmful dependence,” the Public Defender said.