In challenging military conditions, filling the state budget is a priority affecting stable financing of the army and strengthening the country’s defence capacity. At the same time, war always means a severe recession, the closure of businesses, and reduced demand and business activity. That is why the State must balance between filling the budget and reducing the tax and regulatory burden on business to keep the economy moving.
Today, legal gambling, actively criticized in the pre-war period, is better at paying taxes and fees. It once again shows that its negative image created by the opponents of the legalization is an attack on the legalization of this economic sphere.
Despite the significant problems faced by their business due to a reduced number of gamblers, the need to reformat and reduce teams of employees, and make sharp cost reductions, legal operators still pay fees to the state budget. For instance, online poker room GGPoker (NSUS UA Limited), recently UGC member, paid UAH 6 million for a license to organize and conduct online poker games.
Such a conscious attitude is a rare case. Almost all legal gambling operators – UGC members – providing, in particular, online services try to pay license fees regularly even during the war.
What does this say about legal gambling in Ukraine? First of all, it demonstrates that in just two years of functioning of the legal gambling market, the latter has become:
1. Patriotic. Legal operators prove that business today is not only about income. First of all, it is about increased responsibility to the State and its citizens, and each hryvnia paid to the budget supports the military and civilians.
2. Flexible. In just a few months, most legal operators managed to effectively rebuild their business to continue their activities, save jobs, and be able to fulfil their obligations to the State.
3. Far-sighted. Legal operators understand that the war will end sooner or later, and Ukraine will benefit from numerous opportunities, including investment ones. That is why they must survive this difficult period to grow fast in the future. And today legal operators do everything they can to help the State resist.
The relevance of the above is confirmed by the position taken by the state regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries: “Let us not forget that by filling the state budget, gambling operators fulfil their obligations, support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and bring our victory closer!”.
Today, legal gambling demonstrates the full support of the State. And the timely payment of license fees is a crucial element of the#nbsp;whole system of measures#nbsp;taken by legal gambling operators to support the army and civilians.
Anton Kuchukhidze, Chairman of the Ukrainian Gambling Council, exclusively for the Ukrainian News