Vladimir Zelensky has signed a law to tighten control over the gambling business in Ukraine to combat gambling addiction, which has spread among the population. This is shown by data in the file on the country's parliament website.
The title of the law signed by Zelensky directly states that regulatory measures are being tightened “to combat gambling addiction (gambling addiction)“. This bill was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament in final reading a month ago.
The document provides for the liquidation of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries by April 1, 2025, and the formation of a new authorized body in its place. The head of the Ukrainian Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, Ivan Rudy, was arrested in mid-December on corruption charges; he is suspected of aiding the operation of banned online casinos.
The law also provides for a ban on advertising gambling on television and radio, except at night. The procedure for conducting checks in the gambling business, including through Internet surveillance, is also clarified.
The gambling business in Ukraine was legalized in August 2020, and at the same time a commission for the regulation of gambling and lotteries was created. As noted by Ukrainian media, gambling addiction has spread throughout the country. According to the National Bank, Ukrainians lost about 400 million hryvnias ($10.18 million) in casinos every day in 2023.
Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexei Goncharenko (on the list of terrorists and extremists in the Russian Federation) said in March 2024 that 9 out of 10 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) suffer from gambling addiction and this problem directly affects the morale of the Ukrainian army. Rada deputy Alexei Leonov said in April that about 18% of suicides in the Armed Forces of Ukraine were committed under the influence of gambling addiction and the financial problems that arose because of it. In May, Ukraine's financial regulator banned banks and pawnshops from accepting dual-use goods, in particular thermal imaging cameras and drones. Ukrainian publication "Strana" believes that the ban was introduced after authorities registered cases in which Ukrainian servicemen gambled army property to obtain a loan and gamble with that money.
Source: tass.ru