Ukrainian Gambling License
Before 2020, gambling was an illegal activity in Ukraine. The reason for this was because, in 2009, the Ukrainian government passed a law to ban all gambling activities in the country after a casino fire killed nine people who were inside the building. As a result, several entities and many people in Ukraine demanded that gambling be made illegal. A law banning gambling was eventually passed.
In 2020 however, the government passed a new law making certain types of gambling legal again. Casinos and online casinos can now legally open as long as they operate by specific rules. Licenses that casinos obtain last for five years, and the main activities that this license allows include:
- Slot machines
- Poker
- Betting
- Online casinos
Find the ins and outs of the Ukrainian Gambling License below.
Top casinos
Why Gambling Was Illegal and the Draft Law
As stated before, the 2009 deadly casino fire caused the law to be passed for all gambling in Ukraine to be made illegal. Even though this fire happened in a land-based casino, online gambling was also banned. This ban was appropriate for any game where a person had to bet their own money. Because lotteries technically do not count as betting, they were not included in this ban. Therefore, they were allowed to continue under the new gambling laws.
In 2010, the Ukrainian government announced something called a Draft Law. This law allowed regulated gambling to happen again. This included gaming zones, meaning certain organized gambling was allowed in specific locations, such as cruise ships and exclusive hotel rooms. However, gambling licenses were not easy to obtain and cost millions of dollars. In addition, players themselves were subject to an extensive financial and criminal background check.
Casino Requirements
Online casinos operate pretty differently from land-based casinos because they do not run from commercial property. However, they still operate from an actual location. One requirement to have a Ukrainian online casino is that the domain name ends with .ua to indicate the website's location.
The .ua domain requirement also includes land-based casinos that have a website. To open a casino, the casino owner must have a minimum capital of 1.1 million dollars. They need to have a Ukrainian bank that is willing to be a guarantor for them.
The good news is that gambling activities are allowed both online and offline because of the new laws in Ukraine. To start playing online right away, a few top casinos are listed below that offer incredible sign-up bonuses as well:
- Play Million offers up to €100 as a sign-up bonus
- 21casino, which offers up to $300 as a bonus when signing up to the online casino
- Play Grand, which offers up to $300 when signing up
People-based in Ukraine and interested in gambling can sign up to these and other online casinos right away and start playing. They offer anything from online slots games to poker tournaments. They are a lot easier to access than land-based casinos, betting shops, and tournaments.
