In professional discussions around gambling, artificial intelligence (AI) is often reduced to the role of a supporting tool, from customer support chatbots to marketing content generation and basic game recommendation systems. While important, this is merely an entry-level application that does little to fundamentally alter either a company’s cost structure or its resilience to growing regulatory and tax pressure. For markets such as Ukraine, where oversight is intensifying a

PlayCity continues to test innovative approaches aimed at addressing pressing issues in the gambling sector. This time, the regulator has introduced an interesting new approach to combating illegal gambling advertising. To support this effort, an online tool for submitting complaints has been created. Thanks to this tool, every concerned citizen can now join the fight against intrusive gambling advertisements. The introduction of an accessible and user-friendly complaint subm

The transfer of gambling market regulation to the Ministry of Digital Transformation has driven a number of trends in the industry. One of the most significant is the digitalization of interaction processes between the regulator, gambling operators, and players. In addition, such innovations help more effectively track player behavior and prevent the spread of gambling addiction. The Committee on Digital Transformation has finally presented a working version of the first phas

The Ministry of Digital Transformation and PlayCity have launched digital licensing for the gambling business through the Diia portal. Applications for land-based and online casinos, bookmaking activities, slot machine halls, poker, and B2B services can now be submitted online using a qualified electronic signature (QES). The system automatically retrieves data about companies and beneficiaries from state registries, application status can be tracked in a personal account, an

The state agency PlayCity has launched a pilot mode of SOMS, a tool designed to fundamentally change the approach to regulating the gambling market. Instead of delayed reports, the government can now see every transaction in real time. The first two operators are already connected, and the system will soon cover the entire licensed segment. SOMS functions like a digital blockchain for transactions: every bet, payout, or refund is recorded separately with a unique identifier.

Following the emergence of the new gambling market regulator PlayCity, a number of steps were taken toward legalizing lottery operations, improving the system for issuing and revoking licenses, and combating illegal operators. Certain measures were also implemented regarding the introduction of the State Online Monitoring System, which is intended to become the foundation for transparency and accountability in transactions with players. The government is now ready to move fur

The register of individuals who have voluntarily restricted their access to gambling has already reached 15,000 entries. This statistic sends an important signal: the self-exclusion tool is beginning to function not as a formal option, but as a real mechanism for player protection and a way to prevent risky behavior in a timely manner. This is precisely where the strength of prevention lies. Gambling addiction is far easier to prevent than to deal with its consequences later.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has informed the European Commission about the critical scale of the problem: in 2025, the illegal segment captured 27%, or €18 billion in GGR, from the European online gambling market. Fake clone websites of legal brands, unverified illegal apps, and phishing schemes on social media steal players’ data, fuel addiction, and leave users without any protection. Fraudsters copy the domains of well-known operators, offer “bonuses

The new licensing rules introduced by the national regulator PlayCity are already demonstrating their effectiveness. In particular, there has been enhanced scrutiny of applications submitted by operators seeking licenses. Cooperation with the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and other law enforcement agencies in this area has already produced initial results. Recently, the license of one lottery operator was revoked due to the ultimate beneficial owner’s failure to meet l

The Ukrainian lottery market operated in a legal “gray zone” for 12 years, without effective oversight or license payments. The PlayCity competition radically changed the situation by selecting three operators — “M.S.L.”, “UNL.”, and “Patriot” — which have already transferred the first UAH 72 million to the state budget (on March 26, the company “Patriot” had its license revoked due to the ultimate beneficial owner not meeting legal requirements). International companies did

The European gambling market is turning into an arena of conflict due to fundamental inequality in regulation. Governments protect state lotteries and horse race betting as “national cultural heritage,” granting them preferential tax regimes and exemptions from restrictions. Private businesses, by contrast, face high taxes, strict regulation, and discriminatory rules. In Sweden and the United Kingdom, racetrack associations are demanding even greater tax pressure on online ca

Recently, the Ministry of Digital Transformation presented its plan for further reform of the gambling sector. It represents a comprehensive set of measures aimed at addressing key issues related to taxation, as well as the introduction of a Unified Register, which will serve as the foundation for the State Online Monitoring System (SOMS). All these changes are intended to simplify interaction between players, gambling operators, and the regulator PlayCity, and finally resolv

The state agency PlayCity strengthened oversight of the gambling and lottery market in February, demonstrating a comprehensive approach: tough action against the shadow market alongside support for the legal segment. A total of 226 illegal gambling websites were blocked, and requests were issued to block 87 TikTok accounts and 27 Meta pages for illegal advertising. Since the start of operations, access to more than 3,000 illegal resources has been removed. This represents a s

The first stage of the lottery market reform has been completed: the PlayCity competition has identified three official operators — “M.S.L.”, “UNL”, and “Patriot”. Real-time electronic reporting has been introduced, along with unique QR codes on tickets and terminals, monitoring of sales and prize payouts. The market is finally emerging from a long-standing “grey” zone: previously there were no licensing conditions, no transparent accounting, and no real accountability — now

We all clearly understand that in any country the gambling market consists of both a legal and a shadow segment. How “comfortable” illegal operators feel depends on a balanced regulatory policy that gives legal businesses an advantage over the grey market. However, this only sounds good in theory. In practice, achieving this balance is far more difficult than it seems. Even well-developed gambling jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom suffer from the growing strength of il

The European gambling market continues to develop dynamically. While in Ukraine we are still at the stage of defining terminology in tax legislation and developing adequate approaches to advertising, in Europe discussions are already underway about the possibility of supranational regulation of the gambling sector. Today, proposals to unify gambling taxation across all EU countries and introduce common tax rates are being actively debated. Against this backdrop, a logical que

Current restrictions in Ukrainian legislation create an illogical segmentation: gambling companies are allowed to sponsor sporting events, yet prohibited from sponsoring industry-specific events — exhibitions, conferences, and round tables. While mass advertising indeed requires safeguards to protect players from excessive exposure, B2B forums serve as platforms for professional networking, technology showcases, and constructive dialogue with regulators. In this space, legal

The Western gambling market is well established and demonstrates steady revenue growth. However, one of the key challenges of such markets is that once a certain threshold is reached, the growth rate slows significantly due to high levels of regulatory and tax burden. Another obstacle is the extremely high “barrier to entry” for new companies. In these markets, they are forced to compete with powerful gambling corporations that possess far greater financial and other resource

Currently, Ukrainian legislation imposes significant restrictions on gambling advertising. Legal gambling operators are forced to operate within a rigid framework in which, unfortunately, prohibitions far outweigh opportunities. This places them at a disadvantage compared to illegal operators, who use any advertising methods — both online and offline — without regard to restrictions. However, examples of reasonable regulation do exist. One such example is how the law permits

The recent PlayCity competition for official lottery operator status, the results of which were announced on January 28, marked the first tangible step toward bringing Ukraine’s lottery market out of the “gray” zone. Only three companies — M.S.L., UNL, and Patriot — advanced to the final stage under the updated rules. At first glance, this may appear to preserve the existing hierarchy of market players. However, behind this formality lies a strategic transition from a regulat