Regulating Gambling in Ukraine: Recent Achievements
PlayCity, the government agency overseeing the gambling industry, has been operating for six months and during this time has managed to block over 2500 illegal online casinos. This was reported by Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
According to Fedorov's data, within six months of PlayCity's operation, the government has adopted a package of key decisions that introduce standards for responsible gaming and licensing agreements, as well as implementing limits on gambling participation for the first time.
Additionally, from the issued licenses, over 1.4 billion UAH has been transferred to the Ukrainian budget. Besides blocking thousands of illegal websites, PlayCity has successfully removed over 280 social media pages for illegal casino advertising and imposed fines exceeding 52 million UAH on bloggers and media for promoting these platforms.
Fedorov also emphasized that PlayCity revokes licenses from companies that continue to maintain ties with Russia. Moreover, he reminded of the tracking system launched in August that allows Ukrainians to report illegal sites. The agency is also engaged in creating a new register of gambling addicts. Furthermore, for reporting violations in the summer, organizers faced fines totaling 13.6 million UAH.
Lastly, Fedorov announced that for the first time in 12 years, the lottery market in Ukraine will be relaunched. This sector, which has been operating in a gray area, has failed to contribute billions of UAH to the budget. However, according to the Minister, this market will now operate legally and will pay licensing fees and taxes in full.
