Bid for IMF billions
In a recent letter to International Monetary Fund head Christian Lagarde, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance pledged to revive its economy in part through legal gambling.
According to the Unian Information Agency, the move is part of the country’s plan to qualify for $17.5 billion in financial assistance from the IMF. Ukraine received the first billion-dollar installment last week.
In an open letter to Lagarde, Ukrainian leaders including the president, prime minister and finance minister promised legalized gambling in the country “will contribute additional revenue to the budget no later than 2018.” But the IMF said the country must “break with the legacy of weak governance and stop-and-go reforms” to create and sustain economic growth.
Ukraine has endured financial and political upheaval for 20 years, climaxing in 2014 when a revolution toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich and led to the Russian annexation of Crimea.
“The economic and social costs of the crisis have been high,” said Ron van Rooden, the IMF mission chief for Ukraine. “The government has undertaken important reforms under very difficult circumstances, but it has to do much more to recover the lost ground, to bring incomes closer to those in the neighboring states, to improve social conditions, and to build a modern market economy.”
The country introduced a draft gambling bill in 2015 that would have opened up the market to land-based casinos, sports betting and online gambling, with an estimated gain of $1.5 billion per year for the economy. But operators balked at high licensing fees and taxes, and the legislation died.
Ukraine banned gaming in 2013, shutting down a very lucrative industry that paid substantial taxes.
