The Armed Forces of Ukraine and the territorial defence units forced the enemy out of the Kyiv region, lifted the siege of Chernihiv, liberated the Sumy region from invaders, and launched a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine. In the liberated territories, the engineering infrastructure, roads and railway lines are gradually being restored. Active hostilities are mainly concentrated in the east, at the borders of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Business is slowly returning to more or less normal operation, as much as one could in wartime. On their part, the authorities should speed up this process. Recently, in his video message, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky noted:
“Streets of cities should be full of life again. If it is safe. If it is possible. Pharmacies, trade, any business that can operate today. So that our country lives. So that Ukraine starts to recover. And this is up to each of us, everyone who is able to work.”
On the other hand, business that continues to operate is making its best efforts to support the army and help the State in solving humanitarian problems. This process brings both state-owned companies and private enterprises together. For instance, Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrposhta are working on the evacuation of commercial companies from active combat zones to the western regions. That is where their active operation starts anew.
And those companies that continued to operate even during the difficult first days of the large-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine continue to help fight the enemy.
These, of course, include licensed gambling operators in Ukraine, which since the beginning of the war have been directing significant funds to the AFU and the special humanitarian account of the National Bank of Ukraine. However, the support provided by legal gambling operators to the State does not end there.
Some gambling companies are creating mechanisms to provide jobs for Ukrainian refugees who left the country because of the war. An example of such a mechanism is the Give a job for UA initiative.
The project was organized by Global Compact Network Ukraine/United Nations Global Compact in Ukraine, Parimatch Ukraine, Jooble and Happy Monday. It is obvious that providing Ukrainians with jobs will help our State economically: solve socio-economic problems of refugees who then will be able to assist with the financial healing of their State.
Ukrainian citizens are characterized by high professionalism in many areas. That is why these are not only humanitarian projects, but projects benefiting global companies that will offer jobs to Ukrainian refugees:
· compensation for the existing labour shortage (offline, online, temporary or seasonal employment);
· access to a huge talent pool;
· reputation of a responsible employer, etc.
Another way to restore the economy and revive legal gambling may be financial transfers from gambling or charity tournaments to the State.
It is obvious that during the war, gambling in Ukraine suffered a drop in traffic. However, there are still a certain number of people who continue to gamble. And that is why licensed gambling operators find new marketing solutions for transferring funds to the army.
For instance, since the beginning of April, Slots City legal gambling brand has been transferring UAH 10 for each successful casino deposit to help the country, in particular to the Come Back Alive charity foundation and territorial defence forces, as well as humanitarian aid.
A week ago, PokerMatch held the third charity poker tournament, the Victory Cup, all proceeds from which will be transferred to help Ukrainians affected by the war. Two previous PokerMatch tournaments held within the Victory Cup tournaments helped to raise UAH 366,600!
Another licensed online gambling operator, GGPoker, announced that starting from April 2022 all funds raised from charity tournaments and promotions offered by GGPoker will go directly to the NBU special humanitarian account.
I would like to point out again that gambling is an integral part of the entertainment industry. However, even this type of business can serve the State and, thanks to the resumption of its operation, raise funds at international national tournaments for the needs of the Ukrainian army and internally displaced persons.