Between 2009 and 2020, gamers in Ukraine could not access betting activities after the government banned the gambling business. This was after a fire accident in a gaming house in which nine people succumbed. With this, Ukraine Casinos had to close down their businesses. If you are a gambler, you could only play lotteries. The good news is that the Ukrainian government lifted the ban in 2020. However, there are restrictions and regulations set in place to run the gaming industry in Ukraine. For instance, you need to be over 22 years of age to gamble. Here are some of the details you need to know as far as gaming is concerned in Ukraine.
General Requirements of the Operator
The law allows both foreign and local investors to access the betting market. However, gambling operators will need to fulfill some legal requirements to be accepted. Only the registered entities could do the gambling business in Ukraine. Although, there will be some ownership restrictions as well.
One thing you may need to know is that Russian residents will be prohibited from controlling gambling operators. There will be no such thing as Russians being shareholders or UBO in bookmaking operators. Also, they need not have stakeholders that are registered in regions blacklisted by the FATF. Iran and North Korea to be precise.
According to the law, any gambling operator should have a share capital amounting to at least $1.1m. They are also required to have a domain name, specifically dot.ua, and obtain are guarantee or have a deposit account with a Ukrainian financial institution for $1.2m. Additionally, the operators need to follow wagering rules and implement policies that will discourage gambling addictions.
Requirements for Betting Business Owners
What you need to know is that the draft law aims to ensure regulated gambling activities in Ukraine. The law has strict requirements for those who want to own gambling businesses in this country.
- Before thinking about investing in the gambling business in Ukraine, you must have a strong financial background. You will incur a cost of $5 million to get the gambling license.
- Gaming business operators should also have registered capital amounting to $5 million.
- The validity of the license will last for seven years. With this, the operators can pay the license fee in parts within this period.
- The gambling business Act determines the amount of fee.
The Verticals
- Land-based Casino
Casinos in Ukraine will only operate in 200-rooms 5-star hotels in Kyiv. In other parts of the country, you can play casino in hotels with 150 rooms. However, this is not a challenge keeping in mind that Ukraine has more than 60 hotels that can accommodate casino betting.
- Slot Machine Halls
Hotels with at least 3 stars and 200 rooms in Kyiv can host slot machine halls. In other parts of the country, you can get the halls in hotels with 150 rooms. The slot machine halls will be paying an annual fee of about $1.3 million.
- Retail Betting Shops
To operate a betting shop, you have to obtain a legal license. There is an anticipation that the government will issue 80 licenses for sports betting shops. As a license holder, you can only open betting shops in not more than 10 locations. The government will distribute the 80 licenses such that dealers in Kyiv will have 32, 16 of them will go to those in L’viv, Dnipro, Odessa, and Kharkiv, and other cities in the country will have the remaining 32.
Finale Thought
Gamers can now start to enjoy gambling in Ukraine after a long time. What you need to know is that things may not be as they used to be. The government has introduced various restrictions and regulations to control the gambling business in the country. Players and operators need to meet given conditions to enjoy their betting activities. Go through the above text to get more insights on what the gambling market requires in Ukraine.
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