top of page

Legal gambling and preserving jobs: Difficult but not impossible



The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected all aspects of the life of Ukrainians. The business conditions have also demonstrated a drastic change. Unfortunately, many Ukrainian enterprises had to cease their activities in whole or in part due to the war.


To some extent, the work of all companies was affected by three waves of mobilization into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the movement of internally displaced persons abroad and to other regions of Ukraine. The result was the lack of human resources in some regions and a labour surplus in others.

All these circumstances have led to a fast transformation of business models in conditions of unstable labour supply. That is why the issue of retaining professionals is becoming one of the priorities in any domestic company.


Legal gambling operators in Ukraine, both online and land-based, are making significant efforts to save jobs by taking every opportunity, both their own and provided by the State. In particular, the parliament and the government allowed enterprises during the special period of wartime legal regime to retain jobs for employees under the terms of the so-called stand-down.


Under martial law, the reasons for stand-down may be not only active hostilities in the region but also:

  • lack of orders, loss of market outlets;

  • electricity, water, gas cut-offs, and heating shortages;

  • failure of equipment beyond repair due to lack of components or the necessary specialists;

  • mass evacuation/departure of workers.

Clearly, companies do not always speak publicly about internal changes, but I can say that UGC members do their best to keep employees, although things can be different. Publicly, I can only operate with published information.


For instance, in spite of the war, the Pin-UP company kept jobs and even opened an office in Poland, which once again proves that Ukrainians are willing and able to access new markets to help their country.


Meanwhile, Parimatch, in partnership with UNDP Ukraine, Jooble, and Happy Monday launched the Give a Job for UA project. This initiative is aimed at helping Ukrainians with employment and calls on businesses from around the world to support Ukraine by giving jobs to its citizens.


Jobs for Ukrainians will be placed on the Jooble and Happy Monday search platforms free of charge. In addition, the company revised the social aid provided and added compensation for rental housing for those who had to leave their homes, and compensation for relocation in Ukraine and abroad. Employees who decided to join the AFU and territorial defence units received essential military equipment.


The recently licensed Cosmolot gambling operator even received official thanks from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine for helping the army!


Since the outbreak of war, the company has:

· transferred about UAH 2.1 million for the needs of the AFU;

· donated five professional copters and two thermal imagers to help our defenders from a separate reconnaissance battalion in combat zones;

· purchased 16 radio sets for the Kaniv territorial defence unit;

· launched an interactive web portal to help the AFU and collect donations to resist the aggressor.


For instance, the preservation of jobs at Cosmolot allowed its employees to allocate about UAH 120,000 to a volunteer project to produce plate carriers, procure bulletproof vests and tactical equipment for the AFU, and help affected families with children in the Kyiv region.


Thus, let me stress again that legal gambling companies, most of which are UGC members, from the very start of the war, take care of their employees and help the State fight the aggressor, despite all the difficult war circumstances.


Comments


bottom of page