It is unacceptable to completely ban the advertisements of card business.
\"The Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen – AFBA” does not agree with the set of changes, which are initiated by parliamentarian Koba Davitashvili and concerns the arrangement, advertisement and broadcast of gambling games.
\"AFBA” held a special briefing on 20th of March concerning this fact, which was attended by the lawyer of \"The Association of Gambling Business”, Giorgi Meliqishvili. \"The young financiers support the position of \"The Association of Gambling Business” and consider that it is unacceptable to completely ban advertisements for gambling business. As the organization states, extreme restriction of gambling business will transform it into an illegal act, which will negatively influence the existing conditions. Besides, \"AFBA” believes, that there are other problems in the country, which bring a person to the brink and point of suicide, later being stated as the main motive for accepting the law.
\"Fortunately, it must be noted that Georgia is one of the low ranking countries
with the number of suicides, being in top ten countries with the low suicide
rate. There is an average of 4.3 suicide acts on every 100 000 people, while
this number in USA goes up to 11.8, in Japan 23.8, in Canada, Finland, Estonia,
France and other developed countries over 15. Besides, gambling games are not
included in the risk-factors that are associated with triggers of suicide acts.
Thus, believed connection between the gambling games and suicide acts is
exaggerated. Obviously, we cannot deny the existence of such facts, but one of
the reasons for suicide acts is the non-ability to pay back the bank loans,
which does not mean to ban the advertisements of banking activities”, - stated
by \"AFBA”.
The young financiers also discussed the attitude of various countries towards
this type of business. Several examples are stated in the law, which gambling
games are prohibited, but nothing is mentioned about the developed countries,
where there is no such strict regulation. It is sufficient to take USA-s
example, where from September 20, 2011, the approach towards the gambling
business was significantly softened.
It is to be pointed out, that gambling industry tends to decrease as the economy evolves and young financiers consider that at the current level of economic development, each job and each salary is a crucial aspect. The members of non-governmental organization consider that the tendency of economic development will itself regulate the gambling business and its artificial prohibition, at the moment, lacks economic foundation. It will cause the decrease of solid deposits in the budget and unemployment of many people in this field.
\"The financial argumentation of the law states that it will bear no influence
on the income part of the budget, which, \"AFBA” think, is also an invalid
evaluation. In the form of permit and license fees, gambling business sheds 140
million laris for the budget, this, in most cases, equals to the funding of the
budget by large state agencies. It also is important to look at the interaction
of gambling business with other businesses, for example marketing business,
annually, gets orders from gambling business worth 15-18 million laris”, -
stated by \"AFBA”.
\"Nowadays, sports broadcast, for example football match broadcasts are financed
by gambling business, this is quite an expensive process and if the law will be
implemented, this process is also under the danger. In addition, approximately
of 20 million laris will be cut out from marketing business, which will strike
not only television, radio and press companies, but sports broadcast and
marketing companies too”, - stated the lawyer of \"The Association of Gambling
Business”, Giorgi Meliqishvili.
\"AFBA” supports the position of \"The Association of Gambling Business” and calls for parliament not to accept and implement the existing changes in the law.