On October 3, the Ukrainian Parliament registered a draft law "On Amendments to the Gambling and Lottery Laws".
We have recently discussed changes in lottery legislation in our previous article (in case you missed it, you can find it here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ukraine-going-open-lottery-market-4h-comments-situation-4hagency).
In this article, we will focus on the changes associated with gambling.
According to the explanatory note, the bill proposes:
Dmitry Hotsyn, Senior Consultant at 4H, comments on the situation:
"It is clear from the text of the draft law that no radically new instruments are proposed in the field of gambling. All the changes that exist are a logical continuation of the struggle of the Ukrainian authorities with operators who have connections with Russia and the strengthening of tools for checking the work of licensed operators. As our experience of monitoring the legislative process in Ukraine shows, the initial version of the draft law may differ radically from the adopted version. The parliamentary discussion that this draft law will trigger is a good opportunity for gambling market participants to raise concerns about unclear taxation, server requirements, and certification.
We will continue to monitor developments and update you on the next steps".
We have recently discussed changes in lottery legislation in our previous article (in case you missed it, you can find it here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ukraine-going-open-lottery-market-4h-comments-situation-4hagency).
In this article, we will focus on the changes associated with gambling.
According to the explanatory note, the bill proposes:
- Establish additional requirements for licensees, provide for new grounds for the cancellation of licenses (for example, non-payment of taxes and license fees), as well as tighten requirements for the impeccable business reputation of key officials of licensees;
- Improve the provisions of legislation in the field of B2B licensing in order to harmonize terminology and correct the application of the grounds and the procedure for revocation of a license;
- Regulate the procedure for conducting actual inspections by the Gambling Commission and give the Commission the authority to control unlicensed gambling on the Internet;
- Resolve the issue of liability for violations of reporting requirements.
Dmitry Hotsyn, Senior Consultant at 4H, comments on the situation:
"It is clear from the text of the draft law that no radically new instruments are proposed in the field of gambling. All the changes that exist are a logical continuation of the struggle of the Ukrainian authorities with operators who have connections with Russia and the strengthening of tools for checking the work of licensed operators. As our experience of monitoring the legislative process in Ukraine shows, the initial version of the draft law may differ radically from the adopted version. The parliamentary discussion that this draft law will trigger is a good opportunity for gambling market participants to raise concerns about unclear taxation, server requirements, and certification.
We will continue to monitor developments and update you on the next steps".
