Compared to traditional economy sectors, IT business has always been not only more innovative but also more flexible. IT companies create intellectual products, which primarily requires human capital rather than complex supply chains of raw materials, large factories, or warehouses. That is why the IT business can quickly adapt to dramatic changes. And russia’s war against Ukraine once again confirmed this.
It is common knowledge that the Ukrainian IT sector is one of the most dynamic in the world, and Ukrainian IT specialists are in great demand abroad, being highly qualified and creative. Ukrainian IT companies demonstrated all their strengths and incredible adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The war proved their level of flexibility to be phenomenal.
In the first quarter of 2022, the IT business brought in about USD 2 billion in export earnings, while in the same period of 2021, they amounted to only USD 1.44 billion. With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, most IT companies continued to work, making employees work from home. At the same time, approximately 50% of companies helped employees relocate to safer regions of the country or even abroad. In April, 84% of Ukrainian IT specialists fully returned to work, 7% worked partially, and only 6% were out of work.
All these indicators show that the Ukrainian IT business managed to quickly adapt to the realities of the war and continue to work, keeping jobs and producing billions of dollars in revenue for the Ukrainian budget. Online gambling was no exception since, compared to the land-based sector, it managed to adapt and resume its operations much faster.
Having demonstrated a high level of resilience to extremely complex crises, the Ukrainian IT segment has become even more attractive to foreign investors, including in the field of online gambling projects.
This has been supported by the maximum increase in the toxicity of the russian IT sector. According to various sources, from 50 to 70 thousand IT specialists have already left it, and following the mobilization, this process is even faster. In addition to the outflow of IT specialists, the war stopped investment in the sector. Today, not a single adequate foreign investor wants to invest in russian IT, realizing the futility of the market and the fact that taxes on these investments will be used to kill civilians in Ukraine.
These factors increase business activity and help Ukrainian projects attract investment even in wartime. In September-October 2022, representatives of European companies asked me about the state regulation of gambling. Usually, potential investors asked about draft law 2713-d and took a close interest in when the State Online Monitoring System (DSOM) would be launched.
Since Western investors are used to clear and transparent rules of the game, for them, the adoption of specialized tax legislation and an effective online monitoring system in the field of gambling are some of the key factors in making investment decisions.
Given that online gambling has clearly demonstrated its ability to work even in the most adverse conditions, the State should pass the draft law 2713-d and introduce DSOM as soon as possible. By delaying this step, we are losing potential foreign investors ready to enter our market and buy licenses, despite all the military threats. We all are losing vital revenues to the state budget, such as taxes and license fees that could be used to support society and the army.
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