Ukraine regulatory shake-up sent to President Zelenskyy for approval
Second reading of bill approved by MPs earlier this month and includes concessions on proposed blanket ad ban and a new regulator to be introduced
The Ukrainian gambling market is set for a major shake-up, including the liquidation of the existing regulator, as MPs approved a bill that includes a raft of amendments.
The bill, which was introduced earlier this year, was adopted after a first reading in April and included a complete ban on advertising and further licence requirements.
With further work on the bill now having been completed, Ukraine has eased on its blanket ban proposals.
The second reading was approved by MPs on 4 December and was ratified by the chair of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, earlier this week.
The law has now been sent to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his approval.
Included in the bill are allowances for advertising to be shown on TV between 11pm and 6am, while online ads will also be allowed but should not be targeted at those under the age of 21.
Sponsorship will also remain a viable avenue for operators in the market too.
The country’s Gambling Commission will be liquidated, with a new state-run agency to take its place.
The new agency will have the authority to block illegal websites and set limits on certain games types.
The draft law also includes provisions for a B2B licensing regime for non-Ukrainian companies, allow the lottery licence to be opened up to competition to foreign operators and for payments to be run solely through banks.
Speaking to EGR, 4H Agency head of CIS desk and senior consultant Dmitry Hotsyn reflected on the updates to the market.
He said: “In four years of the existence of the Ukrainian legal gambling market, these are the first serious legislative changes. Of course, it’s not yet possible to say with certainty that these changes will be implemented – the procedure still requires signing the draft law by the President – but in this case, it is more of a formality.
“Analysing the text, we see that the draft law is, first of all, an attempt to solve the problems that have accumulated in the market as a result of not taking into account the practical features of gambling at the stage of legalisation.
“We hope this will help the sphere develop and the market will become more attractive for legal operators.”
However, Hotsyn noted that a lack of updates regarding tax remains a major obstacle to growth of the Ukrainian market.
He added: “We have been monitoring this jurisdiction from the very beginning, and we would like to say that the issue of taxation remains unresolved: the Ukrainian tax code is not adapted to the realities of business and, as a result of which, operators quite often face claims from various government agencies in the context of paying taxes.
“We know that when preparing the adopted draft law, the deputies also discussed changes to the Tax Code, but for some reason they were removed from the final version.
“We hope that the parliamentarians will not forget about this issue either.”