Ukraine said yes to the gambling sector. WHAT DOES A CASINO LAUNCH BUSINESS PLAN LOOK LIKE?

The law “On state regulation of activities for the organization and conduct of gambling” (hereinafter – the Law) was signed by the President and published, which means: The Law has already entered into force and it is high time to analyze its main provisions, which will give a general understanding of the principles of the future market functioning.

What types of gambling are now “in law”?
The law regulates the activities of all major types of gambling (except for lotteries), namely: land-based casinos, online casinos, bookmaking activities, slot machine halls and online poker. It is important that the Law establishes the rules of activity for the organization and conduct of online gambling, taking into account the specifics of their activities. Such regulation is extremely important, since the gambling business, like many segments of the business, began to actively move online.

Licensing
The law establishes a mandatory procedure for obtaining a license before starting to carry out activities in the field of organizing and conducting gambling. A business entity that intends to engage in gambling business in Ukraine must apply to the Authorized Body with an appropriate application and prepare a package of documents, the content of which depends on the type of license chosen. The list of grounds for making one of the above decisions is clearly spelled out in the Law and is exhaustive, which, in turn, excludes the possibility of manipulation and levels out corruption risks. It should be noted separately that the Law provides for the possibility of obtaining an investment license in the event of the construction of a 5-star hotel or an investment project approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The validity period of such a license is 10 years, no license fees are charged.

Social orientation of the Law
It should be emphasized that the Law was developed taking into account the best world experience in the field of protecting the interests of players, including through the application of the principle of “responsible gambling”. The law provides for a whole range of measures aimed at minimizing the negative impact of the gambling business on the population. We are talking about measures to combat gambling addiction (gambling addiction), prohibiting access to gambling for persons under the age of 21, mandatory identification of players, the possibility of self-restraint or limitation of players by court decision and other methods of limiting the availability of gambling.

Taxation
The bill provides, in particular, the introduction of a special tax on GGR, which is used in many foreign countries for taxation of gambling (the period for the introduction of a tax on GGR until 2024). However, this does not mean that the industry will not be taxed. The introduction of the so-called “indirect tax” is proposed. We are talking about increasing the cost of the license by 3 times before the introduction of the tax on GGR, which will fully compensate for the absence of tax collections until 2024.

A responsibility
The law establishes significant fines for market operators. An example is a fine of 500 minimum wages (UAH 2,361,500) for violating the procedure for identifying players and, as a consequence, admitting persons who do not have the right to gamble, and the fine for unauthorized interference with gaming equipment is 1000 minimum wages. Moreover, to prevent the emergence of an illegal gambling market, criminal liability is assumed for organizing and conducting gambling without an appropriate license.

As a conclusion, it can be argued that the model of the future gambling market can be called progressive and “understandable” for foreign investors. With the adoption of a balanced taxation