Do you fancy trying sports betting in Ukraine? Then you will simply just adore our professional guide to Ukrainian gambling online platforms. The members of our team put together a list of the most excellent sport betting sites for Ukrainians.
We have even gone further to include anything that you will need while placing your bets, including a guide to online gambling laws in Ukraine, coverage of popular sports and types of payment methods available.
Now, gambling is totally legal and regulated in Ukraine. Nevertheless, this has only happened due to the changes in the country’s legal situation lately which was game changing for bettors who want to place bets in Ukraine.
In the year 2009, there was a sweeping ban on gambling in Ukraine, encompassing even online betting. However all this changed in August 2020 when a new bill was put into law known as “The State Regulation of the Activities Related to the Organisation and Conduct of Gambling Games” which made it legal again. The Ukrainian parliament passed it with 248 votes in favour and 95 against; afterwards president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it.
The new law permitted both online betting in Ukraine and land-based betting activities to be licensed. It was only in 2020 that regulations were finalized to make the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) responsible for licensing legal Ukrainian gambling sites such as online sports betting, internet casinos, and poker rooms.
The first license from KRAIL was given in February 2021, with Spaceiks, which owns Cosmolot gaming brand, being the first one to be honored with it. Previously Cosmolot was in charge of Ukrainian National Lottery until 2019 when it ceased its operations. Subsequently, Parimatch also received approval to operate and thus became the second operator to receive such a right.
However, KRAIL can grant permits to both local and international operators but this has some limitations. For instance, Russian nationals and residents cannot serve as shareholders or directors in the company. Similarly, citizens from North Korea and Iran are forbidden from becoming shareholders in any of the companies.
In trying to find the most appropriate tax systems, legislators came up with some proposals. However, they eventually decided on having a uniform 10% flat rate for all gambling types including electronic betting and other in-person sportsbooks. Operators are also liable to the usual 18% corporate income tax.
Besides, there are also several foreign bookmakers that promote their sites to Ukrainians with many people from the country betting on them every single day.
Nevertheless, with the Ukrainian government’s willingness to control and tax gambling, it has tried to limit the access of citizens to these foreign casinos. In 2020, Ukrainian courts required ISPs to restrict access to 59 online gambling sites; among them were most favorite ones in Ukraine. It was the latest round of prohibitions in the state’s long-term campaign against overseas operators.
But even so, the Ukrainian players still use these foreign operators and probably will continue doing this whenever there are more regulated sites. This is because there are various justifications for utilizing these global gambling websites. Take a close look at why you should choose to bet with a foreign bookmaker.
In Ukraine, betting companies are subject to taxes and fees which do not apply to foreign betting sites. This means that unlike them, the latter can earn a profit while giving you greater chances of getting more money with every bet you place.
To find the largest and most profitable bonuses, you have to look for international operators who are not as restricted as local ones and can therefore give more in deposit matches, free bets, and other offers.
Creative foreign companies have the liberty to be artistic with their deposit and withdrawal methods. This means a lot more alternative options such as cryptocurrencies, pre-paid choices and workarounds in case you cannot use traditional banks.
In Ukraine, the regulated sports betting sites offer various types betting options and are subject to some rules constraining their services. On the other hand, when it comes to e sports betting or entertainment betting and even Ukraine elections betting, foreign sites have more markets.
The regulated market provides safety for players, but also brings additional responsibilities upon both users and operators in terms of their account verification and other anti-fraud issues. Even though on licensed Ukrainian sites are usually more intrusive than on international ones, they still follow Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols.
Making deposits at our online betting sites in Ukraine is essentially simple. Our recommended bookmakers offer a variety of banking alternatives that can suit any money products you may possess.
Let’s check out some of the most common Ukrainian deposit choices we’ve seen on web-based sports betting places.
WebMoney is the most common deposit option at Ukrainian online bookmakers. At first, WebMoney was majorly used in Russia; however, it has developed into the most favored e-wallet in Eastern Europe. Numerous ways can be used to fund your WebMoney account. Alternatively, you may also choose to deposit with Ukrainian hryvnia without having to convert your money into US dollars or Euro. I chose this one because it is quite straightforward and does not require any technical expertise whatsoever as long as a person can use a web browser or send an email, they can do it without any problems at all.
Qiwi is one more popular e-wallet provided by a Russian firm. It was created in 2007 and supports above twenty various payment means, mainly used within Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. As a result, Qiwi has become the most common system for sports betting in Ukraine as well as thousands of other non-gambling related merchants across the region.
NETELLER may as well be the most popular e-wallet globally when it comes to online gambling. It is one of the numerous deposit/withdrawal option in Ukraine and can also be used as a universal bank by many gamblers who play at several casinos.
There are Ukrainian online casinos that accept credit cards for deposits. Betting venues take all popular credit and debit card companies’ products, such as Visa, MasterCard or Maestro. Furthermore, some platforms even cooperate with Discover and American Express. Nevertheless, please note that some banks may not allow their cards to be used in gambling transactions through the internet.
A wide variety of sports are enjoyed by Ukrainian gamblers who like to watch and bet on them. Some sports, however, dominate the country. Here is an overview of some of the games that are most frequently included among the ones bettors in Ukraine usually seek for when it comes to gambling on sports.
Football is the most popular sport in the world and this holds true even in Ukraine. In Ukraine, soccer dictates a common passion for every individual through teams of Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk as well as Ukrainian national squad. But it’s not only about betting on the Ukrainian Premier League as there are also other major and minor football tournaments worldwide such as The European Champions Cup or World Cup.
Basketball is not popular in Ukraine, though it’s obvious that Ukraine is not a basketball powerhouse. In fact, several NBA players have come from Ukraine while others are playing in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague and other parts of Europe. Sports books in Ukraine offer odds on the NBA, Euroleague and USL as well as international tournaments like Eurobasket and FIBA World Championship.
The popularity of ice hockey has burgeoned since the establishment of Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine in 1992. The Ukrainian Hockey League has been offering the highest level of club play in the country since 2016. The top betting sites in Ukraine offer odds on NHL, KHL and other top leagues as well as international play all through to Winter Olympics.
There have been a lot of world boxing champions from Ukraine. These are the Klitschko brothers, Vasyl Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk, among many other titleholders. The best betting sites available in the country offer cards from all over the globe, making boxing gambling big business in Ukraine.
In the past, tennis in Ukraine was just a mere form of amusement but recently some of the country’s inhabitants have become professional players of high rank. This is especially the case with women like Elina Svitolina who has been as high as three in world rankings. The bookmakers in Ukraine present tennis betting for various categories from ATP to WTA and others such as Challengers and ITF tours.
Ideally, eSports betting is among the fastest developing gambling sectors internationally; Ukraine included. Notably, there exist numerous remarkable CS: GO gambling websites in Ukraine as well as various other betting markets for the most well-known games such as League of Legends (LoL), Dota 2 and StarCraft II.
The appearance of gambling in Ukraine was boosted after the country got independence from Russians who had ruled it since the end of cold war 1991. Due to lack of specific laws or regulation to control operator practices, nearly 50 establishments with gaming machines were in Ukraine by year 2000 (the majority being located around Kyiv itself). Some Olympic Casinos group venues were quite far away and there customers could find such casino style table games as roulette, blackjack and poker.
Government in the year 2003, decided to have regulations on gambling in Ukraine. It is clear that a draft law N 4204 “On Gambling Games in Ukraine” was formulated and allowed for certain types of gambling games that can be played at licensed operators:
The draft legislation for some reason, did not cover sports betting.
A few years ago, the government enacted new laws to regulate gambling activities throughout the country. These measures notwithstanding, there were numerous unlicensed betting dens across the nation where minors were allowed to place bets. Finally in 2009, a blaze at Ukrainian gambling establishment ended up claiming lives of nine individuals in an instant.
Because of this, the Prime Minister of Ukraine made all types of gambling to be illegal on grounds that it was a moral hazard and increased poverty levels for those families affected by the economic crisis. “On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine” indicates that ‘placing bets which have a probability of winning determined by chance in whole or in part shall constitute gambling within the meaning of this Law and shall be banned except as permitted by this Law’.
Poker was one of the sore points as a sport that fell within the exempted category in their new law. But by the end of 2009, it was repealed by government to much dissatisfaction. The Ukrainian Supreme Court subsequently declared poker a sport and allowed its legalization – this paved the way for numerous poker rooms to reopen.
Even if online gambling was illegal in Ukraine at the time, this did not deter its citizens from betting, because most of the major bookmakers worldwide accepted players from that country. Although anti-gambling laws might be strict on paper, in reality, they could not have eliminated online gambling without a serious policy of censorship like Russia or Belarus.
One promising event is that the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who in June 2014 stated that it was necessary to legalize gambling so as to earn more income for the state. In his words “It’s absolutely necessary to adopt the law on the legalization of gambling and to obtain secondary revenue for country’s budget” as stated by Yatsenyuk. It had been generally agreed that there were lots of illegal casinos everywhere, therefore, why not make them legal and get money from taxation?
Ukraine only legalized and regulated online gambling in 2020, as part of a broader set of gambling laws that included permits for terrestrial gaming. The latter sought to curtail illicit gambling dens in the country and offshore betting shops by creating authorized options for Ukrainian gamblers.
As the government continues to draw up a new regulatory framework and more licences are issued, it is expected that online gambling regulation in Ukraine will become more state oriented. While some authorities may never be able to stop Ukrainians from betting on international websites, it is inevitable that there will be several more rounds of ISPs blocking these sites, and regulated operators will use their brand recognition within the country to advertise.
The ultimate goal of Ukraine is to gain control over its market and generate income through the new regulatory system. However, in the long run, the authorized sites will have to compete with other licensed sites as well as international sites which currently dominate the gambling industry in Ukraine thus enhancing competition for players.
Certainly, Ukraine has allowed online betting. These have made it possible for bookmakers’ sites to be fully licensed and operating legally in the country. Besides that, many foreign-based sites also offer this service to Ukrainians. You can find our list of the best Ukraine betting sites right here on this page.
Of course, the Ukrainian gamblers can bet with many online sportsbooks located outside. In reality, most of the best gambling sites are located offshore. This means they have better odds on bets, offer larger bonuses and a wider selection of markets than local regulated operators.
Definitely, foreign bookmaker platforms can be used by citizens of Ukraine. At present time there are no betting exchanges that operate in the country and hold local licenses. Nevertheless, a lot of global brands accept players from Ukraine. In other words, if you would rather prefer to play against other bettors instead of accepting odds set by sportBetByGeooks in Ukraine, then you can back or lay your favorite teams and players at odds acceptable to you instead.
A. In the year 2020, Ukraine passed a new gambling law that taxes some gambling winnings as income. Nevertheless, it is only applicable on wins that exceed eight times of minimum wage for the same period. This amounts to UAH 48,000 right now in this case Scenario. But smaller winnings are exempt from tax under present legislation. If you want more information about how much tax you might be required to pay, then you should contact an accountant or tax advisor who is based in the Ukraine near you.
