Of course, in 2024, companies tried to develop actively. In particular, over 11 months, they replenished the budget by UAH 16 billion, which is 1.7 times more than in the same period of 2023. In the structure of revenues, 62.6% is income tax (revenues from this item amounted to UAH 10 billion versus UAH 5 billion last year), and 37% is personal income tax (an increase of 32.7% – UAH 5.9 billion versus UAH 4.5 billion). However, in November, the trend reversed: gambling companies paid 36% less to the budget than in 2023. At the same time, income tax decreased by 49.7%. Accordingly, the revenues themselves also decreased. Such indicators are not surprising. After all, several key tectonic shifts have occurred in the young and rather “sparsely populated” gambling market. Briefly recall the main stories of the gambling industry.
So, already on February 1, the BEB arrested 700 million UAH in Cosmolot accounts. The company reported pressure from government agencies and an attempted raid. Online casino investor Arnulf Damerau complained to Western media that government officials want to collect tens of millions of dollars from the company. It became known that the company is accused of non-payment of 560 million UAH in taxes. In November, Spacesiks, which owns Cosmolot, was acquired by the American investment holding Nevada Gaming. Its president and CEO – again Arnulf Damerau – noted that the online casino’s problems were solved with the help of international lawyers and auditors. The court unblocked the company’s accounts.
Read also: Spotify Exits Russia.
In March, KRAIL issued its first fine for violating the rules of advertising gambling. The publication “Visnyk+K” had to pay 2 million UAH. However, after further events, “advertising” fines for gambling companies ceased to be exotic. At the end of March, a petition from fighter Pavlo Petrychenko, who described the problem of gambling addiction in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and called for blocking the defenders’ access to gambling, flew around the Internet. The petition caused a great resonance, under public pressure, the National Security and Defense Council adopted a package of restrictions, and the Cabinet of Ministers completely banned advertising of the gambling business. On the positive side, the authorities began to more actively fight illegals, in particular, to seek their blocking in Google Play and the App Store.
Against this background, Danylo Getmantsev and his associates managed to quite easily pass the bill 9256-d through the first reading in parliament, which in its first version dissolved KRAIL, limited gambling advertising as much as possible and banned sponsorship. However, the final vote dragged on for months, and the document was adopted only in early December. The approved version allowed sponsorship of sporting events, advertising on TV and radio at night, in the media, on platforms and in search engines for people over 21 years old. In addition, the document introduces limits on gaming expenses and mandatory breaks. KRAIL should be replaced by a new body as early as April 1, 2025.
Read also: Casino Museums and a Record Lottery – Why 80% of Spaniards Are Passionate About Gambling.
In May, UAH 2.6 billion was blocked in Pin-Up accounts, later they were transferred to the jurisdiction of ARMA, and the agency announced the purchase of military bonds on them. At the end of October, the Pechersky Court of Kyiv canceled the arrest, but upon a repeated submission from the State Bureau of Investigation, it was resumed again. At this stage, Ukr Game Technology, the manager of the online casino, refused to appeal. In mid-December, the owners and top managers of Pin-Up were notified of suspicion and a preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen. According to the investigation, the casino’s activities had “negative consequences for the combat capability of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.” The State Bureau of Investigation claims that the casino operates in the “LPR” and on the territory of Russia, and the person directly controlling the company “financed veterans of the so-called “SVO”. We will add that the suspects have not yet been destined to be detained, because they do not live in Ukraine.
But the head of the KRAIL, Ivan Rudy, was detained – again, in the Pin-Up case. They say that he realized and had evidence that the online casino is connected with Russia, but did not revoke their license. The head of the regulator must remain under arrest until February 4 without the right to bail. Get early insights on industry changes! Stay ahead with expert gambling forecasts. Find more on our site.
