Ukraine Government Looks to Introduce New Gambling Rules; Six Bills Considered

The government of Ukraine is dedicated to the full reform of the gambling sector. At the moment, it considers six legal instruments that will bring changes in several fields, including the re-regulation of the gambling sector. Parliament considers amendments to the tax and budget laws as well as changes concerning illegal gambling services.

More About Reform

The Ukranian government has been considering nine bills regarding the gambling industry, and only five of them have already been disclosed to the public. Previous amendments are ed by Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been looking for the entire legalization of gambling services throughout the country. All these instruments were initially proposed by the People Party this past October. Bills are designed to create a regulatory framework for the whole gambling sector including four major segments: online gambling, lottery, sports betting, and casinos.

Innovative bills were submitted by one of the authors Taras Tarasenko. According to the rules, any interested group which bids for casinos in Kiev would need to pay $3.2 million as part of the application process.

At the same time, each online casino platform would need to cover a $2.1 million in licensing fees. One of the bills addresses the licensing conditions for sportsbooks and allows online sports betting operators to own 10 land-based shops within the state.

Expectations

After the submission of application, the country will grant about 32 licenses to local operators including 16 authorizations for providers in capital Kiev and the rest of 16 licenses for operators within the country, including major cities Kharov and Odes. Ukraine expects to generate about $300 million in gambling revenues on the annual level. The country has been considering the legalization of the gambling sector since October and the president has ed the intention.

If Ukraine legalizes gambling all over the state, it should set up gambling venues on an instant basis without focusing just on casinos within three, four, and five-star hotels. As a reminder, Ukraine used to have problems with illegal gambling ever since the annexation of the Crimea region. With reforms of the gambling sector, the country can expect a better future for the whole industry.

Source:

“Ukraine parliament to consider six new gambling bills“, Ad Miral, calvinayre.com, November 22, 2019.