Gambling Business Legalized In Ukraine – The Head Of State Signed The Law

Posted On August 25, 2020

Head of State Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law on the legalization of the gambling business. This is evidenced by the data on the website of the Verkhovna Rada. Earlier, the document was approved by the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Dmitry Razumkov. The last stage of passing the bill – on August 11, was returned with a signature from the president.

Voting For The Gambling Business In The Rada

The Rada adopted the law on gambling business in the second reading on July 14. On July 21, parliamentarians rejected three draft resolutions that blocked the signing of the gambling law. Thus, the people’s deputies unblocked the signing of the document.

At the same time, the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, did not rule out that the president might be asked to veto the law and reintroduce it to parliament with the proposals of the head of state, since there are now several technical differences in it.

In general, the gambling law introduces a licensing system for gambling activities. The cost of the license will depend on the type of game, the amount of gaming equipment and the location of the gambling business. Only those over 21 will be allowed to play.

Conditions For Placing A Casino In Ukraine

In particular, the law allows casinos to be placed exclusively on the territory of five-star hotels in Kiev.

For settlements other than Kyiv, casinos are allowed on the territory of buildings in which hotels of the “four and five stars” category are located.

In addition, the casino can be placed not only in 5-star hotels with 150 rooms for Kyiv, and 100 rooms for other cities, but also on the territory of suburban recreation complexes with an area of at least 10 thousand square meters.

It is also proposed to introduce mandatory verification of players when accepting bets and paying out winnings, registering winnings in the online monitoring system, which is administered by the tax service. In addition, the law increases criminal and financial liability in the field of gambling for persons without a license.

The law provides that a player can only be a natural person who, at the date of participation in the game, turned 21 years old. Gambling organizers are prohibited from accepting bets and paying winnings to persons under the age of 21. The document also proposes to create a register of persons who have limited access to gambling establishments or participation in gambling.

According to the document, conducting a gambling business without a license provides for criminal liability from five to eight years in prison with confiscation of gambling equipment and premises where gambling is held. It is also proposed to prohibit the acceptance of bets from persons who have not reached the age of 18, and to introduce fines for this.

The body of state regulation in the field of organizing and conducting gambling will be a special commission for the regulation of gambling and lotteries. It is assumed that funds from the gambling business through a special fund will be used to support sports, medicine and education.

Finance Minister Oksana Markarova said that the legalization of the gambling business will bring more than $ 400 million a year to the budget.

What Will The Legalization Of Casinos Give To Ukraine?

The legalization of gambling is a worldwide practice that brings the industry under state control, which in one way or another exists even with strict prohibitions. Since citizens of absolutely all countries of the world are interested in games, there are always shadow structures that allow this interest to be satisfied. For example, in Ukraine even schoolchildren knew that slot machines were operating in the halls with the name “National Lottery”. Illegally.

The transfer of a casino to a legal position solves many issues at once, international experts say this. A business that comes out of the shadows will bring large sums to the treasury – up to 1% of GDP. At the same time, foreign companies such as Michael Boettcher’s Storm International will come to Ukraine. They have vast experience, excellent equipment and high standards. This, in turn, will improve the tourism sector and attract travelers who are interested in gaming tours. The creation of thousands of new jobs with decent wages will be a huge plus.

Citizens of Ukraine will feel positive changes, said Darren Keane, Storm International CEO. Thus, many people who work in casinos abroad will be able to return home and work in the same field, receiving decent wages and not parting with their family.

In general, the Ukrainian market looks very promising, said Darren Keane, Storm International highly appreciates the opportunities for the country and potential investors.