UKRAINE LEGALISES GAMBLING

On 13 August 2020, the majority of provisions of Law of Ukraine “On State Regulation of Activities on Organising and Conducting Gambling Games” No. 768-IX (the “Law”) entered into force. The Law introduces regulation of the gambling market and sets requirements for its participants.

Permitted activities

The Law allows to organise and conduct:

• gambling games in casinos;
• gambling games in online casinos;
• offline and online betting;
• gambling at slot machine halls; and
• online poker gambling games.

Requirements for a gambling operator

A gambling operator has to be a Ukrainian resident legal entity that:

• has the charter capital made of documented cash contributions in the amount of at least UAH30,000,000;
• has obtained a respective gambling license to organise and conduct gambling games;
• whose UBOs, owners of a significant shareholding, shareholders, executive manager and chief accountant have high business reputation and are not citizens or residents of an occupier state and/or an aggressor state;
• whose corporate shareholders are not registered in any of the FATF blacklist states;
• has executed a security bank deposit agreement or a bank guarantee to secure payments for the winners in the amount of 7,200 minimum wages set as of 1 January of the respective year (as of today, approximately EUR1,060,000); and
• uses certified gambling equipment connected to the State Online Monitoring System.

The Law provides for separate requirements to be met by various types of gambling activities with respect to:

• venues for gambling, g. casinos may only be located in certain categories of hotels, suburban recreation complexes that meet certain requirements and in special gambling areas that may be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
• minimum area of the gambling premises; and
• minimum number of employees of a gambling operator, etc.

The regulatory authority

The Law also provides for the establishment of the Gambling Games and Lottery Commission (the “Commission”). The Commission will have broad authorities to adopt licensing conditions, issue and revoke licenses, and oversee the gambling market.

We expect that the Law will promote the revival of the gambling business in Ukraine.