The History of Sports Betting in Ukraine
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:
- Bingo
- Totalizator (horse racing)
- Cylindrical games (including roulette)
- Cards or dice
- Slot machines
The draft legislation for some reason, did not cover sports betting.
Parliament Outlaws Gambling
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 But by the end of 2009, it was repealed by government to much dissatisfaction.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.
Legislature Passes Bill to Legalise Gambling
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.