Filling the state budget in conditions of full-scale war is a difficult task. Especially when it comes to providing revenue not from heavy industry or agriculture, but from the entertainment industry. However, despite all the problems, legal Ukrainian gambling continues to pay license fees and taxes, and even manages to attract Western investments.
Even staying afloat in the conditions of war is quite an achievement for the legal gambling sector in Ukraine. However, the legal organizers have been proving for 1.5 years that they are not only able to survive in the conditions of war and legislative uncertainty, and are even able fulfil their obligations to the state and help in the fight against the enemy. Just in 2022, the legal organizers paid more than UAH 1.16 billion of license fees, ensuring performance of budget indicators that were laid down in the pre-war period.
Stable payment of license fees continues even now. In particular, only in the last couple of weeks of August, more than 6.1 million dollars were paid to the state budget thanks to several legal organizers:
- PRYMUM LLC paid UAH 40.2 million for the first year of operation of the license for the organization and conduct of gambling in casino gambling establishments and UAH 20.1 million for the first year of operation of two licenses for the organization and conduct of gambling in the slot machine halls.
- LIMON LLC paid UAH 23.4 million for the next year of validity of the license for the organization and conduct of online casino gambling.
- VBET UKRAINE LLC paid UAH 117 million for the next year of validity of the license for the organization and conduct of bookmaking activities; UAH 23.4 million for the next year of validity of the license for the organization and conduct of online casino gambling; UAH 6 million for the next year of validity of the license for the organization and conduct of online poker games.
- ROYAL LLC paid UAH 2.8944 million for the next year of validity of slot machine licenses.
- FAVBET Bookmaking Company LLC paid UAH 201,000 hryvnias for the first year of validity of the bookmaker's license.
However, in addition to paying license fees, the licensees attract investments into the Ukrainian economy. For example, Cosmolot, which paid UAH 800 million in taxes to the state budget last year, recently attracted a strategic investor. British investor Arnulf Damerau bought a significant share of the company. Although the amount of the deal is not disclosed, it is a significant investment, because thanks to it, the company plans to increase its capitalization, enter Western markets and start preparing for a public offering of shares.
Given the current security and political-economic situation in the country, this event is significant, because it gives several important signals about the legal gambling market in Ukraine.
Firstly, legal gambling remains attractive to Western investors even in conditions of the full-scale war and regulatory uncertainty.
Second, if investors show interest in the sector even in such conditions, even today, we should start preparing for the post-war recovery, when Western business will invest much more actively in the Ukrainian economy and look for a new regional leader in Eastern Europe. Adoption of appropriate tax and regulatory legislation should be a large part of this preparation. This will increase the profitability of investments, and will also serve as a clear demonstration that investors' money is protected in Ukraine.
Third, it eliminates the unwarranted criticism towards at legal gambling and the reform. After all, how can we say that gambling underpays something to the budget, if, in addition to paying license fees and taxes, it also brings professional investors to the country? Besides, if investors are ready to invest in the market even in war conditions, can we say that the reform was a failure?
Such decisions of investors demonstrate the real powerful potential of the Ukrainian gambling market. Its preservation in the conditions of war and its full implementation after our victory over Russia remain the main task. For this, first of all, you should do your "homework" – adopt Draft Law 2713-д, introduce the State Online Monitoring System and make punishment for illegal businesses inevitable.