Despite the fact that gambling has been legal in Ukraine for more than two years, and the state and licensed organizers are making every effort to turn the gambling industry into a civilized business, there are still many prejudices against this type of entertainment. All of them appeared due to illegal gambling businesses that do not pay taxes, annoy with intrusive advertising, and deceive players. Unfortunately, many people still don't understand this and shift the adverse effects created by illegal gamblers to licensed gambling organizers.
The reform aimed at legalization of gambling was an important step in terms of increasing state budget revenues and boosting the country's investment potential. Although the relevant draft tax law 2713-д and the introduction of a unified online monitoring system (UOMS) are still required for the completion of the reform, the state has already received almost UAH 3 billion in revenue from license fees alone. In addition to that, legal organizers have invested hundreds of millions of hryvnias in the economy and created thousands of jobs. Given that the market has been operating in conditions of war for almost a year, this is a good result.
However, there are still a lot of populists and other adherents of the theory that gambling is a bad thing. They constantly say that gambling is addictive and that casinos are created to take the last money from the population. These phenomena actually have nothing to do with legal gambling. We owe all these widespread prejudices to illegal gambling businesses.
Unpaid licenses, taxes, illegal advertising, non-compliance with the principles of responsible gambling, and encouragement of dangerous behaviour of players to maximize their own profits are all characteristic of illegal businesses. And when MPs and populists actively emphasize in their speeches the lost revenue from gambling to the state budget, they should be talking about illegal businesses first and foremost.
Ukraine has the highest license fees in Europe, so no legal organizer will flirt with the state or try to come up with any schemes. After all, the state can simply withdraw the license, and a legal organizer will lose hundreds of millions of hryvnias and suffer a devastating blow to its reputation. Therefore, following the rules and paying taxes becomes much more profitable than violating them. No one wants to shoot themselves in the foot and pay for it.
Therefore, when reading another negative article or news about the legal gambling market, you should not be manipulated and forget that illegal businesses are the cause of all adverse phenomena in the gambling sector. Their number, unfortunately, does not decrease even in conditions of war. There are still dozens of times more of them than legal organizers, just like in any other country where gambling is legalized. They continue to parasitize on the state budget and players without creating any positive effect for the market. It is their activities that cast a shadow on the legal gambling sector and impede the sustainable development of the gambling market in Ukraine.
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