Today, the Ukrainian Gambling Council is the largest Ukrainian association of legal gambling operators, uniting 80% of the legal gambling market in Ukraine. We act as the main platform for communication between the State and the entire legal gambling industry, ensuring the sustainable and effective development of the gambling business in Ukraine.
UGC members are not only legal gambling operators, but also gambling organizations and media representatives. Today, more than ever, it is crucial to inform the society truthfully on the gambling legalization reform. People should understand that the legalization of gambling is not just about allowing casinos and slot machine halls to operate openly. The objective of the reform is to build a civilized gambling market in our country: to bring the economy out of the shadows, increase the state budget returns, promote the development of related business areas, as well as protect gamblers.
Opponents of this process continue to spread fake information and manipulate people’s minds in their own interests. And they have only one interest, that is, making gambling illegal again to receive enormous profits, take advantage of the defenceless gamblers and not pay taxes. When gambling was illegal, there was no one to complain to. You lose, you pay, and no one cared that your family could end up homeless.
Today, the philosophy of legal gambling market is different: to demonstrate that gambling is one of the types of entertainment and leisure activities, and not a way to earn money or a source of income. The State and legal gambling operators care about the comfort and protection of gamblers, the market is regulated by responsible gambling principles, and programs are being developed and implemented to combat the spread of gambling addiction. Observing these principles, the Ukrainian Gambling Council also organized free legal and psychological support for gamblers and their families.
Another important aspect of the reform is to convey information about the Ukrainian gambling market to foreign investors and global gambling operators in order to attract investment. And UGC, as a specialized association, is directly involved. Achieving this goal is also possible by accepting foreign specialists in the field of gambling into our ranks.
For instance, on February 11, the British group of companies Sports Betting Community (SBC) joined the Ukrainian Gambling Council. SBC is a news, media and events company. The SBC Group, headquartered in London, has about 80 employees in Europe, the US and Latin America. Having ambitious expansion plans, SBC remains a fast growing and innovative company focused on quality and fulfilling obligations to customers.
SBC Media is the largest publisher of b2b news in the gambling industry, publishing over 70 articles daily. SBC Events organizes some of the world’s largest sports betting events. The company’s events include SBC Summit Barcelona, SBC Summit North America, SBC Summit CIS/Kyiv, CasinoBeats Summit and Betting on Sports Europe.
Our cooperation with SBC actually began last year: in October 2021, UGC acted as a strategic partner of SBC in organizing and hosting SBC Summit CIS, the largest gambling event in Eastern Europe.
“UGC’s contribution to last year’s SBC CIS Summit was immense and we look forward to working with your team again in 2022. Ukraine is one of the markets with the greatest growth potential for the international betting and gambling industry. It is important for SBC to communicate with the most influential organizations. That is why we are pleased to strengthen our relationship with UGC,” said Rasmus Sojmark, founder and CEO of SBC, during the official procedure of joining UGC.
For our part, we are sure that the latter will also strengthen UGC’s position in conveying the benefits of the Ukrainian gambling market and become a bridge between gambling in Ukraine and the world.