Voting 248 to 95, the Ukrainian parliament—Rada—recently approved Bill-2285D which will “form a new market for regulated gambling.” The law will allow Ukraine’s government to repeal the current Prohibition of Gambling Law which banned all forms of gambling except state-run lotteries since 2009.
At the start of his term in September 2019, President Volodymyr Zelensky approved the overhaul of the country’s gambling as a core objective of the SoP Party. The approval of the bill help allow Zelensky to maintain SoP’s 2020 legislative agenda, including forcing oversight committees to fast-track Bill-2285D for final readings this summer over objections by opposition MPs.
Critics said the draft of Bill-2285D contained flaws regarding taxation policy, licensing criteria, business transparency and interaction with influential state lottery operators. Opposition MPs said SoP prepared drafts of the bill in secret, predicting—wrongly—that the legislation would be “dead on arrival” for final Rada readings. Instead, Rada approved amendments put forward by Ukraine’s Committee on Finance Tax and Customs to allow online gambling, land-based casinos and retail bookmakers.
The legislation will establish a new gambling commission and restrict all forms of gambling to those age 21 and above.
Ukraine media and technology investment group Parimatch Holdings stated, “The development of a fair and regulated betting industry is excellent news for Ukraine. It shows the world we are ‘open for business.’ It will draw international investment into, and help grow, important technology and payments sectors that are the foundation of the betting industry. Through the license fees and tax contributions, it will also generate much-needed revenue for the state budget. The Bill includes many best-standard international practices that will form the framework of a transparent and competitive market. We eagerly wait for President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign it and deliver on his ambitious pledge to legalize betting to support Ukraine’s new economy.”
