The effective work of the national regulator in any sphere of economic activity is possible only under the condition of a high level of trust of all market participants and consumers of their services in government institutions. At the same time, trust in government institutions is based on social capital, which consists of the obligations and expectations of society, information exchange, and clear adherence by officials to the rules of society. Degree of integrity of officials, which is determined depending on how well they are able to prevent corruption and counteract its manifestations, is one of the most important criteria for assessing social capital.
Therefore, the initiative of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) to create a rating of government agencies according to the state of implementation of measures for the prevention of corruption provided for by anti-corruption programs is absolutely correct. This rating can become the basis for a more global study of the effectiveness of public institutions, as during development of the rating, their work on the implementation of measures in accordance with the field of corruption risks was investigated according to twenty criteria from various areas of public administration, in particular such as personnel management, procurement, finance management, organization management, material resources management, information management, public and media relations, document flow management, supervision (control) and formation and implementation of state policy, etc.
Based on these criteria, the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL) was ranked 6th in the rating among the central executive bodies of Ukraine with 91% efficiency of the implementation of the programs and measures to prevent corruption, and entered the top twenty among 108 state government agencies.
I should note that only five central executive bodies has the efficiency indicator value exceeding 90%. So, this result confirms the fact that the principles of the rule of law, legality and transparency are a priority for CRGL in the activities related to the prevention of corruption. And the special status of the Commission due to the collegiality of decision-making is the most important mechanism for preventing corruption. This collegiality is at the same time a safeguard against corrupt practices and a tool that increases trust in the activity of the national regulator in general.
By the way, supporters of the institutional approach in political science believe that trust in government institutions is a direct consequence of the successful work of these institutions to meet the needs of citizens. So, let me remind you that the CRGL works in the gambling market on the following:
- Protection of public interests;
- Monitoring of compliance by the companies that organize gambling with the principles of the responsible gambling, aimed at preventing and minimizing the adverse consequences of the participation of an individual in gambling, and measures aimed at organizing self-restraints and self-control of players;
- Introduction of social advertising regarding conscious gambling - playing as a means of relaxation, not a type of additional income;
- Creation of a certain culture of understanding gambling exclusively as a form of recreation and its belonging to the global entertainment industry;
- Providing revenues to state and local budgets, primarily thanks to conscientious compliance by the organizing companies with requirements of the effective legislation regarding mandatory license payments.
All jurisdictions where gambling develops successfully and works in the public interest have strong state regulators with highly trust rating, and the integrity of their employees is a prerequisite for the effective work.