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A Ukrainian parliament committee has adopted an amended bill, 9256-D, which proposes to shut down Ukraine’s gambling industry regulator, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL), and replace it with a new authority next year.
The draft legislation would also introduce several other changes to the country’s gambling regulatory framework, including banning gambling advertising.
Danylo Hetmantsev, the chairman of the Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, announced that the body had amended the draft bill in a social media post.
The lawmaker said the proposed changes will combat gambling addiction and “improve the state’s regulation of activities related to the organisation and hosting of gambling games and lotteries”.
In the chairman’s opinion, the committee “significantly revised” the legislation’s provisions and introduced several amendments.
The latest move is related to various accusations leveraged against the KRAIL and its leadership, including those related to inefficient supervision of the sector and corruption.
Under the plan, the KRAIL will be closed, and its responsibilities shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation and a newly created body by April 1, 2025.
A ban on gambling advertising, except for a limited list of permitted methods, will be imposed. Sports sponsorships will be exempt.
There will be a new requirement for gambling operators to process all non-cash payments exclusively through banks.
Additionally, the draft bill aims to strengthen the legislative framework on state lotteries, in particular by establishing requirements regarding the ownership structure, impeccable business reputation and grounds for licence cancellation.
Following the second reading of the proposed legislation, the committee recommended that parliament adopt Bill 9256-D in its latest version.
Hetmantsev is a senior politician and MP for the Servant of the People party of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the Verkhovna Rada, the ruling party holds 235 out of the 450 seats, which provides it with a comfortable majority to implement its policies.
Over the past year, the Ukrainian government has introduced new gambling restrictions, among others implemented through Decree 234/2024, which banned members of the country’s armed forces from using the services of online and brick-and-mortar gambling outlets as long as the nation remains under martial law.
