The Bill №2285-d Passed: the Prospects for Gambling in Ukraine in 2020

The Gambling Act in Ukraine entered into force on January 16, 2020. The bill №2285-d passed in the first reading at the winter parliamentary session. 260 people's deputies, mostly from the Servant of the People party, cast their votes for the bill.

The Legalisation of Gambling in Ukraine

The bill №2285-d included 4 different documents that had previously been considered at the meetings of a committee. According to the statements of deputies from the ruling coalition, they tried to present a balanced project that would take into account the interests of all participants in the gambling market.

The legalization of the gambling business in Ukraine, according to experts, should solve the following problems:

1. The liquidation of the shadow market, which, with the adoption of the ban on gambling in 2009, operated in the grey zone and did not pay taxes.
2. Pumping up the budget of the country. The amount of planned treasury revenues has already been named: in 2020, the gambling business in Ukraine should generate 4 billion hryvnias. Such indicators will be achieved thanks to tax revenues from the business, as well as through the registration of license agreements.
3. Creation of new job opportunities. In this matter, the Cabinet of Ministers was oriented towards the experience of Spain where the legislation amendments provided 120 thousand additional job opportunities.
4. The normalization of relations in the chain “player—gambling club—government” and the fight against ludomania.

Types of Gambling

Gambling in Ukraine is legalized in the following directions:

• Opening a casino in Ukraine.
• Betting operations on the Web and in land-based gambling clubs.
• The launching of an online casino.
• The organization of poker tournaments — in online and land-based locations.
• Organisation of lotteries.
• Placement of slot machines in gambling halls.

If an economic entity is planning to be engaged in several types of gambling entertainment at once, it will be necessary to obtain a permit for each type of activity. For a land-based casino, for example, you will need licenses for the main activity, the placement of “one-armed bandits”, and the organization of poker tournaments.

A permit for online poker is also necessary for those entrepreneurs who are planning to open an online casino in Ukraine, and a basic license for the launch of a virtual club will be required as well.

Supervisory Functions

The bill №2285-d provides for the creation of a special body, the Gambling Regulatory Commission. It will include 6 members and a chairman. They will be appointed by the relevant committees after the consultation with the Cabinet.

The commission will have a variety of functions, including the execution of license agreements. The authorized body will check the documents for compliance with the established standards and issue their expert testimony on whether specific entities have the right to open a gambling business in Ukraine.

All licensees will be listed in public electronic registries. The created commission should also maintain them.

The duties of the authorized body also include online monitoring of the activities of licensees. To do this, all enterprises will be connected to a special system that will allow you to track financial transactions in real-time.

Representatives of the state revenue service will also have access to the system to control the completeness and timeliness of tax deductions.

Licensing

It is impossible to open a casino in Ukraine without the acquisition of a special permit. All licenses will be drawn in electronic trading through the ProZorro system. Only those applicants who have passed a preliminary examination in an authorized body are allowed to take part in it. Also, the ProZorro platform is planning to charge a 10% commission of the transaction amount.

Requirements for the Applicants

Gambling in Ukraine provides specific conditions for each gambling field. Nevertheless, we can name the requirements that are relevant for the casino industry as a whole:

• In Ukraine, to buy a casino or any other gambling business, you must provide a bank guarantee in the amount of 30 million hryvnias.
• The number of employees in a land-based casino or a gambling club should not be less than 50 people. Each employee must sign an employment contract.
• Land-based gambling businesses in Ukraine can only be conducted only in special areas. For a casino, this is the territory of 5—star hotels with at least 100 rooms (for Kyiv — from 150 rooms). The area of the casino should be from 500 square meters, including the utility rooms and rooms for staff.
• Bookmaker’s offices and gambling clubs with slot machines will be located in hotels with 3 stars or more. The area of the room is from 300 square meters for the capital and from 150 square meters for other inhabitant areas. It is allowed to install no more than 25 units of gambling equipment in one club.
• All payments must be made in the national currency — hryvnias. In land-based casinos, it should be done through a specially equipped cash desk with the issuance of the corresponding cheque, and for companies that operate on the Web — with the use of the integrated payment module.
• Advertising of gambling and betting is prohibited during sports and cultural events.
• Those people who are not 21 years old yet should not be allowed to gamble.
• All equipment must be certified and released no earlier than in 2019.
• Gaming sites can only operate in the .ua domain zone.

Cost

All licenses will be issued for a period of 5 years. Their cost depends on the type of gambling.

How to Launch Your Own Online Casino?

With the adoption of the relevant law, gambling in Ukraine becomes a promising and, most importantly, legal activity. This is a profitable business that will bring good money in the shortest possible time. The main thing is not to get lost in all the innovations and to be one of the first to launch a gambling business in Ukraine.

The Smart Money company provides a wide range of services related to the opening of gambling projects. We offer close consultations, as well as legal and marketing support. We can also develop individual solutions, for example, online casinos with a license. These are full-fledged products with a large selection of video slots, a stylish design, and reliable software.

To get more information on Smart Money, just contact our manager:

• by e-mail: [email protected]
• on Skype: sm.pay
• via the feedback form.