Why are gambling tax revenues increasing?

The legal gambling market in Ukraine has demonstrated stability and moderate growth over the past two years, largely recovering from the decline and forced transformation of activities caused by the full-scale war outbreak in 2022.

This recovery is primarily reflected in the increase in tax revenues from gambling, which grew by 22% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching almost UAH 9 billion in the first five months.

Regarding the revenue structure, according to the tax service, it is distributed as follows:

• The main contribution is income tax (UAH 5.97 billion), indicating the high profitability of legal operators;

• Significant amounts of personal income tax on winnings (UAH 2.15 billion) reflect active player participation;

• Military duty (UAH 652.7 million) and personal income tax on salaries (UAH 102.7 million) demonstrate the industry’s social contribution;

• Finally, VAT (UAH 94.7 million) further signals growth in legal transactions.

  
  

Taken together, these figures show the activity of both companies and players, confirming the growth of Ukraine’s legal gambling market.

The main reason for this growth is the legalisation of the gambling sector, which enabled the state to regulate activities and collect taxes from previously illegal operations. After the Law of Ukraine “On State Regulation of Activities on Organising and Conducting Gambling” came into effect in 2020, a significant portion of the gambling business emerged from the shadows. Gambling organisers obtained licenses, allowing the state to monitor their operations and secure regular tax revenues.

However, legalisation is not the only factor. It also helped attract new players to the market, including international companies, which increased the volume of operations.

The shift of many gambling consumers to online platforms is also important, as offline gambling development during the war was nearly impossible due to the constant threat of attacks on crowded venues. Companies that had invested in land-based operations before the full-scale war were unable to recoup their investments, and many venues remain closed.

Therefore, the rapid digitalisation and expansion of digital infrastructure in Ukraine inevitably affected the gambling sector, which is now predominantly represented by the online segment. By the way, this “onlineisation” of the gambling market is a global trend — meaning that the war is not the only factor influencing the growth of this particular gambling type.

The upward trend in the legal gambling sector is confirmed by the overall increase in revenue. Thus, according to the Opendatabot Index, the industry revenue in 2024 was UAH 55.5 billion. This trend is expected to continue in 2025.

Accordingly, it can be stated that this year’s growth in tax revenues from gambling in Ukraine results from a combination of legalisation, which expanded the market and brought it out of the shadows, and improved tax administration through fiscalisation and regulatory reforms. The war has accelerated the shift to online platforms, supporting growth, while the land-based segment has struggled. In 2025, the market is expected to continue growing as it further expands and regulatory mechanisms improve.