The NACP should check for corruption in the "anti-gambling" draft law No. 9256-d, which was adopted by the Parliament in the first reading on April 24, 2024, and which contains a number of corruption components that could negatively affect both the gambling market and the country's economy as a whole.
This was stated by Anton Kuchukhidze, Chairman of the Ukrainian Gambling Council, a public association that unites most licensed gambling organizers. He also said that UGC has already addressed an official letter to the NAPC regarding the need to conduct a thorough anti-corruption examination of a number of provisions of the draft law.
In particular, the Chairman of the UGC believes that the amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" proposed in the draft law 9256-d actually deprive all legal gambling organizers of the right to advertise their services, equate sponsorship with advertising, and force them to go "underground".
The draft law also contains a provision on the abolishment of the CRGL and the creation of two separate bodies: one to regulate betting, online casinos, and casino facilities, and the other to regulate the lottery market. This will lead to a decrease in state regulatory influence on the market.
In addition, there is a risk of hindering the activities of foreign investors by making it impossible for them to invest in the domestic gambling industry. After all, the document contains a provision prohibiting anyone who "owns directly or indirectly (through another individual or legal entity) any share of a resident of a foreign state, a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine" from being a gambling organizer, which does not contain any time limits. This means that all(!) international gambling brands that have ever operated in russia but left the russian market immediately after the start of the large-scale invasion fall under this article.
The Chairman of the UGC emphasizes that the draft law deliberately uses ambiguous phrases and "semi-norms" and value judgments, which creates a fertile ground for corruption.
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