Gambling in Ukraine was illegal between 2009 and 2020.
Parliament outlawed gambling in 2009 after a May 2009 fire in a gambling hall in Dnipro that killed nine people. The Ukrainian parliament passed the law "On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine" (Gambling Ban Law) banning gambling business and any participation in gambling in Ukraine on May 15. The President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko signed the law on June 23 and on June 25 it came into force. The Law On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine also applied to internet casinos, it did not apply to lotteries.
Parliament legalised gambling again on 14 July 2020, albeit with regulations and age restrictions (minimum age of 22).
2009 Ukrainian ban on gambling
After a May 2009 fire in a gambling hall in Dnipro that killed nine people several parts of society demanded a ban on gambling. The Ukrainian parliament passed the law "On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine" (Gambling Ban Law) banning gambling business and any participation in gambling in Ukraine on May 15. The President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko signed the law on June 23 and on June 25 it came into force. The Law On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine also applied to internet casinos. It did not apply to lotteries.
On 6 January 2010 the Cabinet of Ministers excluded gambling from the list of economic activities, which can be licensed. This is read in the Cabinet of Ministers resolution No.14 of Jan. 6.
The law gave the definition of gambling. It stated that any game requiring the player to make a bet that enables them to receive a prize and the result of which depends on chance partially or completely, is considered gambling. Thus, all kinds of gambling, including slot machines, bookmaking, online gambling, interactive gambling became illegal. The law also provided a list of activities that are not considered gambling. These included lotteries, creative competitions and sporting events, pool, bowling, free draws carried for purposes of advertising, charity, promotion and education, etc.
According to the Gambling Ban Law, both organization of gambling business and gambling were illegal. The law provided that any organizer or gambling should be fined, while the gambling equipment and the revenue received was subject to transfer to the budget of the state. Despite the prohibition, by July 20, 2009, over 500 facts of illegal operation of gambling establishments had been exposed in Ukraine which resulted in the confiscation of 6,000 slot machines and around 216 criminal charges.
However, it did not lead to cessation of the gambling business, but it led to its criminalization. The police began to cover gambling business for reward.
According to Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko Ukraine had an unusually high number of gambling halls (over 100,000), which "take the last money from families, which don't have much, and which corrupt young Ukrainians."
2010 Draft Law
According to the Gambling Ban Law, the new Draft Law "On Gambling Organization and Maintenance of Gambling Activities in the Special Gambling Zones" should have been created within 3 months after the Ban Law took effect. However, because of the unstable political situation in Ukraine this draft wasn't introduced until 2010.
On November 3, 2010, the Draft Law was made public. This law provided for the establishment of the state-owned National Gambling Operator that would control the organization and regulation of gambling activities and also issue licenses for all private gambling operators.
On September 29, 2015, in Kiev, the first in the history of gambling Congress Ukraine, Ukrainian Gaming Congress was held.
Gaming zones
A significant provision of the Draft Law is the creation of so-called gaming zones. All gambling activities with the exception of state cash lotteries should move to these gaming zones. The list of gaming zones includes:
hotels with at least 4 star rating and 100 rooms
cultural and entertainment complexes, nonresidential premises, Ukraine-registered ships that can accommodate a casino with a gambling hall of at least 500 sq. meters
Additionally, the territory of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea and resort towns located within its boundaries are also proclaimed a special gambling zone.
Gambling establishments can't be opened within less than 500 m proximity of the educational and government institutions and healthcare facilities. The main reasons for choosing such locations were the intentions of the Ukrainian government to:
1) limit the possibilities of the vulnerable part of the population to play games of chance