Casino License in Ukraine: Legal Business with a Reliable Partner

Gambling has always been and still is one of the most promising and popular types of entrepreneurial activity. Recently, a completely new market has opened for the operators ― Ukraine.

For more than a decade, gambling projects in the country have been falling under sanctions of government agencies. Today, gambling establishments have become legal, and the industry’s income has already been included in the state budget for 2020.

For more detailed information on casino licensing in Ukraine, you can contact the employees of Casino Market. Our team will not only provide the relevant information but also take care of all the legal nuances of a startup.

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The Gambling Industry in Ukraine: the History of Formation

Gambling establishments in the country have been banned since 2009. For this reason, licenses of local and foreign suppliers were recalled, and huge holes appeared in the budget.

The law banned all activities related to the organisation of games, such as slot machines, card tables, and simulators. Online casinos, land-based and virtual betting shops stopped their activity.

The only kind of the authorised work was the lottery, the absolute government monopoly on which was established in 2012.

Entrepreneurially-inclined representatives of the gambling business managed to find a loophole because the gambling license in Ukraine in the format of instant lottery draws was available as a type of economic activity, though without an ability to transfer it to third parties. As a result, under the guise of “instant lotteries”, sweepstakes, Internet cafes, and traditional slot machine rooms began to appear.

Attempts to change the situation have been made repeatedly but the most decisive actions took place at the end of 2019. President Zelensky set the task before the deputies ― to pass a bill on the legalisation of gambling by December 1.

The Verkhovna Rada failed the voting. As a result, on December 20, 2019, an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was held, and on the same night, state security department officers nailed to the wall 43 underground gambling halls in 6 regions. The next day, illegal casinos were closed all over the country.

On January 16, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada approved a draft bill on the full legalisation of the gambling business. In the first reading, 260 deputies cast affirmative votes (with the required minimum of 226 votes).

An interesting fact is that the budget for the current year already includes casino revenues that will come out of the shadow segment. According to analysts, the number of contributions to the public treasury will be more than 4 billion hryvnias. These funds will be used to develop two areas: medicine and education.

Ukrainian Casinos: Legal Formats of Work

The following objects of the gambling industry can legally operate in the country:

• land-based gambling houses;
• virtual casinos;
• sports betting locations and sweepstakes;
• network bookmaker’s offices;
• slot machine halls and locations with hardware devices;
• lotteries;
• poker rooms on the Internet.

Key Legislative Innovations

Those operators who have decided to provide their services in Ukraine should be aware of the following restrictions:

1. Games for money are available only for competent individuals who have reached the age of 21 years (the identification of each user is mandatory).
2. The organisation of gambling services is available only to legal entities.
3. A casino license in Ukraine is issued to companies with an authorised capital of more than 30 million hryvnias.
4. Gambling zones can be located only on the territory of hotels (5-star hotels for full-fledged casinos and 3-star establishments for slot machine halls).
5. For 1 thousand people, there should be no more than 1 unit of gambling equipment in a certain territory and not more than 40 thousand devices all over the country.

One gambling license in Ukraine gives the right to install up to 250 slot machines, and 60 of them can be located in Kyiv.

All data on operators, formats of the documents, and relevant registries for the maintenance of control over the industry will be posted on the Internet in the public domain. Also, a separate authorised body will be created, which will coordinate its activities with the Cabinet of Ministers.

How Much Will a Ukrainian Gambling License Cost?

According to the draft bill N 2285-d, the license for operators of gambling establishments has no fixed value. The certification price is calculated on the basis of the minimum wages in the country (4723 hryvnias as of January 2020). The aim of this approach to pricing is to minimize corruption risks and ensure a prompt response to the state's budget indicators.

Mandatory fees will be reviewed annually, and the general cost of the license will be split into equal parts for quarterly payments during the whole validity period (5 years).

Regardless of the type of gambling activity, entrepreneurs receive a license for 5 years. The exception is special investment certificates. They can be obtained by those operators who are ready to build a new 5-star hotel compound with more than 200 rooms at their own expense. This type of permit is valid for 10 years.

Sanctions and Administrative Fines

Illegal gambling businesses in the country will be subject to legal prosecution.

For violation of the rules of the local regulator will lead to the following fines:

• 170—680 thousand hryvnias — a sanction for the primary violation;
• 680—850 thousand — a fine for the repeated violation of the license terms;
• 500 minimum wages — a fine for allowing minors to gamble (in Ukraine, people under the age of 21 cannot play casino games);
• revocation of a license — a sanction for the repeated provision of services to minors;
• 1 thousand minimum wages — a fine for a unit of non-certified equipment;
• 160 minimum wages — a fine for illegal betting business.

Casino Advertising in Ukraine

According to the new law:

• it is prohibited to advertise gambling establishments in print media;
• it is not allowed to use media channels (television and radio broadcasts);
• it is prohibited to promote gambling services in places where mass sports and public events are held;
• outdoor advertising is allowed only at night (from 9 pm to 7 am);
• the sign of a casino should be no more than 3 meters long and easily removed;
• advertising materials should not include the words “casino”, “bets” or “slot machines”.

Conclusion: Gambling Business in Ukraine With Casino Market

A new free sales market is red meat for gambling operators. It is time to correctly size up the opened prospects and occupy the most profitable business niche. Your indispensable helper in this matter is Casino Market.

We offer you not just to purchase an online casino license in Ukraine ― our team is ready to take on full legal support for a startup (from the collection of documents to obtain legal status to the resolution of all the disputes with visitors to your gaming site).

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Casino Market is a guarantee of honesty, security, confidentiality, and a decent profit.

Start your own legal business in the Ukrainian gambling market right now! Contact us:

• by e-mail: manager@casino-market.com
• on Skype: support.casinosupermarket
• via the feedback form.

James Burton The Casino Market partner, the owner of the gambling establishments’ network

Have questions or want to order services?
Contact our consultants:

• e-mail: manager@casino-market.com
• Skype: support.casinosupermarket
• feedback form.