Play City’s February results

The state agency PlayCity strengthened oversight of the gambling and lottery market in February, demonstrating a comprehensive approach: tough action against the shadow market alongside support for the legal segment. A total of 226 illegal gambling websites were blocked, and requests were issued to block 87 TikTok accounts and 27 Meta pages for illegal advertising. Since the start of operations, access to more than 3,000 illegal resources has been removed. This represents a systemic blow to illegal operators that had long remained outside effective control.

At the same time, 6 new licenses were issued for online casinos, B2B development, and lotteries, generating UAH 107.39 million in budget revenue. This sends a clear signal that compliance pays off, while violations are punished regardless of scale.

The regulator is demonstrating a balanced approach. The illegal segment is under total pressure through website and social media blocking, while legal operators are provided with clear rules. New licenses stimulate growth, resulting in stable budget revenues.

The regulator is also showing progress compared to the early stages of reform, when the shadow sector dominated due to structural gaps. Work is now actively underway to implement the SOM system (testing will begin in March), which will create a unified digital infrastructure inaccessible to illegal operators. The legal sector is gaining predictability: those who invest in transparency are given room to grow.

However, February’s success is not an end in itself. Maintaining an uncompromising approach to illegal activity remains crucial: mirror sites, cryptocurrency payments, and new domains constantly emerge and require continuous improvement of blocking mechanisms.

PlayCity has proven its ability to combine strict measures against illegal operators with dialogue with the legal sector. February’s results: UAH 107 million in budget revenue, 226 blocks, and UAH 4.7 million in fines. This is a trajectory worth scaling. Regulatory pressure on the shadow economy should not affect compliant businesses; instead, it should encourage adherence to standards. The potential of SOMS is significant. Monitoring systems and market de-shadowing will make the market not only controlled but also attractive for investment. State stability begins with clear standards that make the market predictable.