The Ukrainian legal gambling market, despite all the difficulties and problems of wartime, continues to operate and help the state in the fight against the aggressor.
According to the information of the national regulator, only in Q1 2023, more than UAH 522 million was paid to the state budget from licensed gambling organizers thanks to the work of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL)! This is 1.6 times more than was provided for in the budget estimate for this period. Let me remind you that in the period from January to March of the current year, it was planned to receive around UAH 322 million from the gambling industry.
As head of CRGL Ivan Rudy noted, these funds constitute payment exclusively for licenses, excluding taxes.
"It's not just UAH 522 million of payments to the budget. Those are millions of hryvnias that the state needs now, more than ever, to meet the needs of the Armed Forces," the head of the Commission emphasized.
The financial results clearly prove the effectiveness of CRGL's work, which provides stable support for the economy of Ukraine. These additional 200 million hryvnias paid to the state budget are a significant response to criticism of the national regulator and an effort to spread the opinion in the media that the legal gambling market does not need specialized state supervision.
In all civilized countries where the legal gambling business operates, there are state institutions that perform regulatory functions. For example, gambling in Great Britain (with the exception of sports betting) is regulated by the British Gambling Commission (UKGC); in France by ARJEL, which mainly takes care of the online segment; in Denmark by the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA); in Australia by the Gambling and Racing Commission (ACT); in the USA, not every state has its own separate regulatory body, and the practice of one of the oldest regulators, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB, established in 1955) is a model for other jurisdictions to follow.
In those countries where the activity of the gambling business is completely subordinated to the state and only casinos and other gambling establishments owned by the government operate, the role of regulator is assigned to a special government department.
Accordingly, no country hopes that the "invisible hand of the market" will decide everything on its own in the area of gambling regulation. Therefore, it makes sense for Ukraine to continue using the practice of the civilized world in this area, and not to try to "recreate its own wheel."
Besides, you don't need to be a real specialist to understand that the current reform of gambling legalization in Ukraine is working. Quantitative indicators confirm the effectiveness of the Commission's operation.