The gambling industry in Ukraine is here to stay!

On 14 July this year, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted, at second reading and in its entirety, the draft Law of Ukraine ‘On State Regulation of Activities Related to the Organisation and Conduct of Gambling’ (Bill No. 2285-d).
Taking into account the amendments to the above-mentioned draft law adopted at second reading, it is now possible to discuss the key provisions of the future Ukrainian law, the signing of which by the President of Ukraine is awaited by some with anticipation and by others with apprehension. However, sooner or later, the legal organisation and conduct of gambling will become a reality. Therefore, we consider it necessary to highlight the main provisions of the future law.

1. General requirements for participation in gambling: a player must be at least 21 years of age; upon entering a gambling establishment, every potential player must undergo identification (initially based on an identity document and subsequently based on a player card issued to the player by the gambling organiser). Representatives of the occupying state may not act as organisers or participants in gambling activities.
2. There are plans to establish special gambling zones within Ukraine by government decree; however, their number may not exceed five.
3. Any games lacking at least one of the following characteristics shall not be considered gambling: a) the presence of a stake; b) the possibility of winning or not winning a prize; c) the prize depends wholly or partly on chance.
4. The organisation and conduct of gambling shall be carried out on the basis of the relevant licence.
5. It is planned to establish the following registers: Register of casino gambling organisers; Register of bookmaking operators; Register of organisers of gambling in slot machine halls; Register of lottery operators; Register of poker game organisers; Register of self-excluded individuals. The registers will be published on the official website of the competent authority designated by the government.
6. The gambling market will be subject to state supervision. With a view to monitoring the activities of gambling organisers and safeguarding players’ rights, the introduction of an online monitoring system is planned.
7. The draft law sets out requirements regarding the size of the authorised capital of a gambling organiser, which must be fully paid up and must be equal to or exceed 30 million hryvnias at the time of submitting the licence application. The authorised capital must be formed exclusively from cash funds.
8. It is planned that gambling operators will be required to adhere to the principles of responsible gaming; in particular, they must ensure that persons who have voluntarily submitted an application to restrict their participation in gambling, and persons with a gambling addiction (ludomania), are unable to participate in gambling. In the event of failure to comply with this principle, the organiser will be obliged to compensate such persons, at their request or at the request of their family members, for ten times the amount of the financial loss (losses) incurred.
9. It is planned to provide the option of voluntarily restricting one’s participation in gambling for a period of between six months and three years. Such a restriction may also be applied on the basis of an application by first-degree relatives or legal representatives.
10. Casinos may be located in five-star hotels in the city of Kyiv with more than 150 rooms, whilst in the regions, casinos may be located in four-star hotels with more than 100 rooms. Slot machine halls may be located in three-star, four-star and five-star hotels, with the minimum number of rooms in such a hotel set at 50 for Kyiv and 25 for other localities.
11. There are also plans to introduce a mechanism whereby the state grants free ten-year investment licences for casinos, subject to the construction of a five-star hotel. (For the city of Kyiv, this requires the construction of a hotel with 200 or more rooms; in other regions, more than 150 rooms).

We are awaiting the final version of the law and getting our wallets ready for the game.