Ukraine blacklists unlicensed Russian gambling sites

On Monday, Ukraine revealed that it would block Russian offshore gambling websites from operating within the country’s digital borders.

These iGaming and sports betting platforms were already deemed illegal prior to the move, but Ukraine has now completely blocked internet users in the country from accessing unlicensed offshore websites. The news was announced by the Ukraine Security Service officials and the Gambling Council, who joined forces to curb illegal gambling.

The recent attack on unregulated offshore gambling websites was launched to ensure that Ukraine’s land-based casinos and other, regulated iGaming platforms were not negatively impacted. By issuing the ban, Ukraine will be able to direct more customers to its legal, regulated gambling sector.

Following the legalization of online gambling in Ukraine in 2020, operators are required to first apply for a license to offer internet gambling from the Ukrainian Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries. They are to pay $1.3 million to acquire the iGaming license, and gross gaming revenues are subjected to an 18% tax.

Per the license requirements, companies owned by a Russian entity or individual are not allowed to hold a gaming permit in Ukraine. They are also not allowed to have individuals from a Financial Action Task Force black- or grey-listed country among their shareholders, or to own shares from Russian corporations. Some of these countries include Iran, North Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy also lifted the country’s land-based casino ban in 2020, and only one gaming venue has opened since then. The Billionaire’s Casino is located in The InterContinental Hotel in Kyiv and features 50 slot machines and 16 table games. Per Zelenskyy’s gaming law, casinos can only operate in hotels, and individuals at least 22 years of age are allowed to gamble.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic are responsible for the lack of gambling venues in the country. When the war broke out over a year ago, Zelenskyy suspended every form of in-person gambling indefinitely, including those carried out in small poker clubs.

The Ukrainian Gambling and Betting Association recently announced that it would no longer delay tax payments for 2022 and other financial obligations from its members. Last month, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers stated that land-based casinos and legal iGaming sites had till April 2023 to pay for their 2022 duties.

Gambling and Betting Association spokesperson Mykola Melnyk said, “Companies that invested in the legal land segment have not even begun to recoup their investment, and today they remain closed.

“It’s very painful that the changes initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers will, unfortunately, affect investments, which are already very difficult to bring to the Ukrainian market.”

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