Illegal gambling is facing increasing difficulties in operating online. This global trend is primarily due to the tightening of regulatory laws in various jurisdictions, the introduction of new technologies for monitoring and blocking illegal websites, as well as active law enforcement. In addition, many countries have begun to develop their own regulatory systems to legalise and control gambling, which also affects the activities of illegal operators.
In turn, leading online platforms and financial institutions have also tightened transaction controls, making it more difficult for illegal sites to receive funds from users. As a result, illegal gambling services are trying to adapt, but their activities are becoming increasingly risky and less profitable.
Ukraine is also trying to follow this trend. In recent months, the national gambling regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL), has already established cooperation with Meta Platforms Inc. (owner of the world's largest social network), which has resulted in 24 advertising messages on Facebook and 65 messages on Instagram being blocked in July this year (data for August is being updated).
However, the work on eradicating illegal gambling sites from the Internet has not ended with the fight against advertising of illegal gambling sites, but has just begun! The next step is to block applications for mobile devices (gadgets) in the most common and popular cross-platform app stores.
And in the first weeks of cooperation between CRGL and Apple Inc. 62 illegal gambling apps have already been blocked on the Apple Store digital distribution platform, as their availability in Ukraine violated the requirements of national legislation and had negative consequences for the health of Ukrainians. The number of blocked applications of illegal casinos, bookmakers, slot machines, etc. will only increase in the near future, and the emergence of new ones will be closely monitored by both the CRC and the services of the tech giant.
The national regulator is actively working to control the gambling market in Ukraine, which includes monitoring the activities of both legal and illegal operators. Cooperation with platforms such as the Apple Store allows us to respond more quickly to the emergence of new dangerous applications. The growing number of blocked apps shows that regulators and technology companies are taking the problem of illegal gambling seriously.
I hope that soon Alphabet Inc. (the owner of Google) will join the policy of fighting illegal gambling in Ukraine and applications of shadow market players will be blocked in Google Play just like they are now blocked in the Apple Store.
I would like to remind you that the fight against illegal immigrants in the gambling market not only protects players from fraud, but also protects the online segment of the Internet from racists and their companies' business activities, and provides an opportunity for the white gambling market to develop in Ukraine.
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