EUROPEAN UPDATE News
Third times a charm
The Ukrainian Parliament has received a third draft law for the much anticipated gambling law
A deputy of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has offered his own vision of a draft law on gambling. It is common knowledge that Ukraine passed a complete gambling ban in 2009. Since the start of last year, there have been heated discussions concerning the creation of a new law, which would legalise casinos under certain conditions and certain territories.
Two draft laws legalising games of chance were offered. However, in spite of this and extensive discussions, the parliament has not started considering the drafts as yet. The new draft, which was registered in the parliament on April 18th, also provides for the lifting of the ban of games of chance and casinos online. Moreover, it contemplates a state gaming monopoly.
In the explanatory note to the draft law, the deputy says that the gambling ban sent casino gaming underground. The unsubstantiated figure of approximately 20 per cent of Ukraine’s adults are participating in gambling underground is given, losing the government US$2bn a year. The state budget not only lacks taxes from the gaming business, but also incurs additional expenses in fighting the illegal gaming business.
The draft law provides for the creation a state monopoly for the operation of cash lotteries and real money games of chance. According to the draft law, a National Operator of Games of Chance should be set up, to issue licences with the pre-approved scope to legal entities. Games of chance and cash lotteries would be organised by the licensed legal entities or by the National Operator.
The draft law also contains requirements in regards operators’ financial status. The nominal capital of lottery operators would be as much as that of banks – 75 million hryvnas; and the owners’ capital – over €5m. The nominal capital of casino operators could not be lower than the cost of the licence and equipment – 40 mn hryvnas.
G3 I JUNE 2011 I PAGE 23
While previous drafts of the gambling law in Ukraine have dropped the idea of creating specific gaming zones, the latest
proposal sticks to this requirement. There would be a specific named
territory defined as the only gaming zone,
and it would include 3, 4 and 5-star hotels with at least 60 rooms each.
Geographically, this
zone would be located in the territory of Crimea, with the exception of
Sevastopol, and Ukrainian resorts
Bukovel, Truskavets, Morshin, Slavskoye and Mukachyovo.
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