Ukraine Dissolves Gambling Authority Amidst War Challenges

Ukraine has shut down its gambling regulatory body due to the difficulties posed by the ongoing war.

On April 24, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted to end its gambling regulatory authority, KRAIL, with the passing of bill number 9256d. They made this move because the board was struggling with issues like slow licensing processes and the effects of war on gambling activities.

Reasons Behind the Dissolution

• KRAIL faced difficulties in convening meetings since some members were called into military service following Russia's invasion, stalling license issuances.
• The Parliament brought up concerns on how gambling affects both the Ukrainian Army and the society during the ongoing war.
• A petition by soldier Pavlo Petrychenko garnered over 25,000 signatures, triggering mandatory presidential review due to worries about the gambling industry's influence.

On April 2, the President of Ukraine announced new, tougher rules for online gambling to help protect society.

Gambling in Ukraine's economy during war times.

Governments have been closely watching and controlling gambling, particularly on the internet. This industry plays an important role in Ukraine's economy as gambling companies have paid a lot in taxes—2.2 billion Ukrainian hryvnias in 2024 and 10.4 billion in 2023. The authorities are also tough on illegal gambling, having collected 700 million hryvnias from those who tried to avoid paying taxes earlier this year.

Debate and Expectation for Change

It's not clear what rules will be made for gambling, but it looks like there will be tougher rules. New laws want to stop ads for gambling and protect people who could be harmed by it more easily.

Alina Plyushch, from a law office in Kyiv, points out that new laws need to carefully support both the military and the economy. There are worries about how well these laws will work, particularly for online casinos.

Transition of Regulatory Powers

After KRAIL is shut down, its duties are expected to be given to the Ministry of Digital Transformation for now. This is a temporary step before setting up a new agency to handle these tasks or deciding to let the ministry itself keep this role.

The article talks about Ukraine deciding to close down its gambling oversight agency because there's a war with Russia. The lawmakers voted to stop KRAIL because they are worried that gambling, mainly online, is not good for the people and soldiers during the war. Even though gambling gave a lot of tax money, the government now wants to control it more and keep people safe. For now, the job of watching over gambling will go to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, until they make a new group to handle it.