Online among gambling possibilities being considered by Ukraine

It’s been almost three years since draft legislation on legalised and taxed gambling surfaced in Ukraine, proposing regulations governing a range of gambling related activity that included brick and mortar casinos, online gambling, a national lottery and sports betting.

That initiative eventually tanked when government became a little too greedy on the proposed tax and fees structure, but businesses keen to see more development rallied around a new trade body titled Ukrainian Gaming Industry Association to continue lobbying government.

That led to the realisation by government that it may have missed out on an estimated Euros 370 million by not persevering with the gambling project and consulting with interested parties to arrive at more realistic fees and taxes, and earlier this year the Finance Ministry disclosed that the project was back on the agenda.

Further confirmation of this recently surfaced in correspondence regarding monetary support between government and the International Monetary Fund, where top Ukrainian officials outlined budgeting plans needed before billions of Euros in aid could be provided. Their plans included the prospect of raising additional government revenues through new gambling laws in the near future.

Details of this apparently fresh initiative remain scarce; it is not known if the previous draft legislation is to be resurrected with a more sensible tax and fee structure, or if the government drafters are to start from scratch….hopefully in consultation with relevant and interested parties.

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