Last year the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine legalised gambling, a move which was lauded as “a historical event” for a country where the activity had been prohibited for almost a decade.

Since then the Rada and cabinet ministers have been working on the adoption of all the necessary bylaws, as the country seeks to launch its regulated marketplace as this year Ukraine plans to deliver it’s Gambling Law framework governing all industry disciplines for land-based and online gambling verticals. 

What is it?

SBC’s ‘Welcome to Ukraine’ panel taken from our SBC Digital Summit CIS conference looks at how Ukraine has become one of the most sought emerging markets in 2020 after President Volodymyr Zelensky permitted the legalisation of regulated gambling in the nation. 

It explores gaming offering such a diverse and exciting range of opportunities and how international operators evaluate Ukraine as a new market, in terms of regulation, taxation and marketing.

Who is it?

Boris Baum, Deputy Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office

Levgeniia Derbal, Chief Legal Officer, Parimatch

Dr. Ekaterina Hartmann, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, EGBA

Ilya Machavariani, Senior Partner, 4H Agency

What is being said?

Derbal stated: “The market will require a balance between the regulations and the taxation, which should be reached ahead of its launch,”

“We have carried out internal assessments in terms of the taxation against other European countries, and we came to the conclusion that the state either has to stick with a high licensing fee or a high tax rate.

“For sports betting the licence fee is about €940,000 per year, and according to the Law once the state monitoring system is implemented the licensing fee will be tripled to €3 million. There needs to be a careful reassessment of high licence fees when tax drafts are reviewed.”

Why should I watch it?

In depth analysis of the Ukraine betting industry looking at its history, the challenges of forming a gambling market, whilst simultaneously terminating black-market activities and the future regulations and the taxation of the market.

Where can I see more?

Source: SBC YouTube Channel
And check out CasinoBeats interview with Andrey Astapov, Managing Partner at Eterna Law and member of the Expert Advisory Council of the Gambling and Lottery Regulation Commission of Ukraine discussing the licensing conditions for each type of gambling activity in the gambling market in Ukraine.