Regulated
The gambling regulatory framework in Ukraine consists of:
Gambling Legislation

• Law of Ukraine No. 768-IX “On the State Regulation of Activity of the Organisation and Conduct of Gambling” (“Gambling Act”)
• Lotteries are regulated by Law of Ukraine No. 5204-VI “On State Lotteries of Ukraine” (“Law on Lotteries”).

Subsidiary Legislation

• Decree No 891 “On the establishment of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries”
• Decree No 1341 “On the approval of Licensing Conditions of the Organization and Conduct of Gambling”
• Decree No 300 “On the approval of Licensing Conditions of carrying out activity on provision of services in the field of organization and carrying out gambling activity”
• Decree No 1263 “On the approval of criteria for assessing the degree of risk of economic activity in the organisation and conduct of gambling and determines the frequency of state supervision (control) by the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries”
• Decree No 101 “On the approval of the Procedure for application of financial sanctions (fines) by the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries”
• Decision of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries No 128 “On the approval of the List of Gambling Equipment subject to certification”
• Decision of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries No 483 “On the approval of the Principles of Responsible Gaming”
• Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No 171 “On Approval of the Procedure for the Functioning of the State Online Monitoring System” of 16 February 2024

Other Relevant Legislation Applicable To Gambling Regulations

• Law of Ukraine No. 254к/96-ВР “Constitution of Ukraine”
• Law of Ukraine No. 2755-VI “Tax Code of Ukraine”
• Law of Ukraine No. 361-IX “On Prevention and Counteraction to Legalisation (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime, Financing of Terrorism and Financing Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” (Anti-Money Laundering Law)
• Law of Ukraine No. 743-VIII “On Prevention of the Influence of Corruption Offences on the Results of the Official Sports Competitions”
• Law of Ukraine No. 222-VIII “On Licensing of the Types of Economic Activity”
• Law of Ukraine No. 2297-VI “On Personal Data Protection”
• Law of Ukraine No. 270/96-ВР “On Advertising”
• Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 234/2024 “On the Decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine of April 20, 2024, “Regarding Counteraction to the Negative Consequences of Online Gambling”

Sanctions Legislation

• Law of Ukraine No. 2341-III “Criminal Code of Ukraine”
• Law of Ukraine No. 8073-X, “Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences”

Subsidiary Pending Legislation

• Draft of the Law No. 2713-d “Bills on Gambling Tax” was submitted to Parliament on June 19, 2020 and is currently in progress
• Draft Law “On the Peculiarities of Implementation of State Regulation in the Sphere of Organisation and Conduct of Gambling Games and in the Lottery Sphere during the Legal Regime of Martial Law” was submitted for consultation on November 08, 2022
• Draft decision “On Approval of the Procedure for Inspection of Gaming Equipment” was published on October 28, 2022
• Draft Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving State Regulation of Financial Services Markets”
• Draft Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Organisation and Conduct of Gambling and Lotteries”

The Gambling Act defines gambling services as economic activities on the organisation and conduct of any game, whether in premises or on the internet, the condition of participation in which is the player making a bet that gives the right to win (prize), the probability of receiving and the size of which depends in whole or in part on chance, as well as the knowledge and skills of the player; and gambling services in the territory of Ukraine can only be offered by a gambling organisation licensed in Ukraine in accordance with the Gambling Act.

Law of Ukraine No. 768-IX “On the State Regulation of Activity of the Organisation and Conduct of Gambling” (“Gambling Act”) governs the organisation and conduct of gambling in Ukraine.

The Gambling Act covers the following gambling activities:

• Land-based and online casino
• Land-based slot machine halls
• Land-based and online betting
• Land-based and online poker

The requirements and licensing procedure for land-based gambling are considerably more complex in comparison to online gambling due to restrictions on the location of land-based gambling establishments to the so-called “special gambling zone”, limitation of premises where gambling activities can be conducted and certain requirements pertaining to gambling equipment.

The Gambling Act entered into force in Ukraine in July 2020. This was followed by the introduction of regulations establishing a Gambling and Lottery Regulation Commission (the “Commission” or “KRAIL”) which acts as a supervisory authority over the industry. At the time of writing, the Commission had drafted licence conditions which have been submitted for public consultation, which were eventually approved on 31^st of March 2021.

It had been expected that the authorities would begin accepting licence applications by the end of 2020. However, this has been stalled and it was only in February 2021 that the Commission approved the country’s first iGaming licence for operator Spacex. Pursuant to the register on the official website of the Commission, as of April 2024, there are sixteen operators that have been licensed by the Commission to carry out casino games online, two entities have been licensed to provide online poker activity and three entities have been licensed to carry out bookmaking activity.

It has to be highlighted that the list of licensees has slightly decreased since December 2022 due to the fact that a number of licences were cancelled by the Commission due to the links of such licensees with Russia. Nevertheless, During January-March 2024, the Commission received 194 applications for licences in the field of organising and conducting gambling activities. Following the consideration of the respective applications, the Commission made decisions to issue 152 licenses, including:

• 3 licenses for providing services in the field of gambling
• 1 license for organizing and conducting casino gambling activities on the Internet;
• 9 licenses for gaming tables
• 1 license for a gaming table with a roulette wheel;
• 138 licenses for gaming machines (including applications received at the end of 2023)

Furthermore, on May 1, 2023, Ukrainian Prime Minister initiated a draft law to transform the Commission from a collegial body to a central executive body in order to ensure smooth functioning of the body in charge of regulating gambling, particularly due to the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, which led to some members of KRAIL being released from work for a period of military service.

In addition, on 20 April 2024, the President of Ukraine issued a Decree whereby the Cabinet of Ministers has the following tasks within a month:

• Develop a procedure for restricting all forms of gambling advertising, including the use of electronic communications, symbols of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other military formations
• Prohibit the registration of multiple accounts for one player and determine a weekly game time limit
• Oblige the organiser of gambling to set a limit for the player before the start of the game with the possibility of changing such a limit no more than once a month
• Implement a state online monitoring system
• Conduct a national informational and explanatory campaign on the dangers of gambling, blocking illegal websites providing access to gambling
• According to the decision of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC), the military leadership will immediately prohibit servicemen from accessing gambling establishments and online casinos for the duration of martial law

At the same time, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Policy are tasked with developing clinical treatment standards for gambling addiction and socio-psychological rehabilitation of individuals with gambling addiction within three months.

The National Bank of Ukraine is recommended to:

• Introduce a ban on accepting goods of dual use as collateral within two weeks

Approve methodological recommendations for:

• Issuing banks of payment cards regarding compliance with the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention and Counteraction to Legalisation (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” regarding P2P transfers
• Banks on blocking citizens’ payments by credit funds to accounts of gambling organisers for participation in online gambling

Additionally, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is tasked with negotiating with Apple and Google within a month regarding the prohibition of placing mobile applications with gambling games without the appropriate licence in the “UA” zone in their app stores.

Finally, the Security Service of Ukraine will conduct inspections of gambling organisers regarding compliance with Ukrainian sanctions legislation within two months.

Market Size
The gambling market in Ukraine is rapidly developing and promises to be highly profitable. Ukraine has a population of well over 40 million people. Since gambling in Ukraine was previously prohibited, there are no official statistics indicating the popularity of gambling in the region. However, according to data obtained from social sources, players in Ukraine spend approximately EUR30 million per year gambling.

Competitive Landscape
It is also noteworthy that the gambling market in Ukraine has low competition due to the fact that legally and officially it is at its initial stage.

Localisation
As such there are no prohibited payment types in the Gambling Act; nevertheless, in case of online gambling, all payments for bets, return of funds and payment of winnings are required to be cashless.

Top Key Attractions and Challenges
Attractions

• To date, Ukraine has in place only a high-level regulatory framework. This, on the one hand, may give some advantages to participants in the market, since Ukrainian gambling regulation is contained in one piece of legislation, making it easier to become familiar with the main requirements.
• A number of bills were passed to the parliament of Ukraine which have proposed changes to the Gambling Act. The aim of these proposed changes, inter alia, is to eliminate a number of revealed technical inconsistencies, improve mechanisms for monitoring the gambling market, and create more favourable conditions for the legal entry of international operators.
• Despite the present war, the Commission has been still drafting new legislation in order to improve the regulatory framework as well as issuing new online casino licences.

Challenges

• The absence of subsidiary or more detailed regulatory acts and guidelines may result in a certain level of ambiguity when it comes to the rules and processes for market entrants and compliance with the requirements.
• Due to the Ukraine – Russia war, all gambling establishments are closed, and all gambling events are suspended until further notice.