The National Bank has banned lending to addicts
26 July 2024 04:50
The National Bank of Ukraine has banned the conclusion of consumer loan agreements with persons included in a special register of gambling addicts who used credit funds to place bets. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the NBU press service.
Starting from 25 July, credit bureaus that have entered into information cooperation agreements with the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries will be able to access the Register of Persons Restricted from Accessing Gambling Facilities or Participating in Gambling.
Thus, prior to entering into a consumer loan agreement, lenders must check the availability of information about a person in the Register by contacting credit history bureaus.
Credit history bureaus will provide creditors with information free of charge about persons who are restricted from accessing gambling facilities or participating in gambling and using credit funds to place bets.
“The Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries has already taken organisational and technical measures to ensure that credit bureaus have access to the register. Information about persons who are restricted from accessing gambling facilities and/or participating in gambling is entered into the register by the authorised body based on the results of consideration of the relevant application,” the National Bank said.
In particular, commercial banks have already started sending out notifications about lending restrictions in applications.
Who can submit such an application to the authorised body:
family members of the first degree of kinship or legal representatives in accordance with part 11 of Article 16 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Regulation of Activities on Organising and Conducting Gambling”.
Under what conditions:
if a person who is restricted from accessing gambling facilities and/or participating in gambling uses credit funds to place bets, and the costs of the game exceed the personal income of such a person, which puts the player or his or her family in a difficult financial situation.
This is based on the results of consideration of an application regarding the excess of gambling expenses over the player’s personal income, which puts the player or his family in a difficult financial situation, and is carried out using funds borrowed, including on the terms of a financial loan.
The algorithm of actions for restricting relatives from participating in gambling, as well as a sample application for such restriction, is available on the official website of the CRGL.
If CRAIL enters the relevant information about a person into the Register, credit history bureaus will be able to pass it on to lenders. Upon receipt of such information, in accordance with the second paragraph of the first part of Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On Consumer Lending”, lenders will be prohibited from entering into a consumer loan agreement with persons in respect of whom they have received information about their use of credit funds for making bets.
As of 22 June 2024, the NBU has prohibited payment transactions of customers to accounts of gambling organisers for gambling using funds received on credit terms.
It should be noted that in 2023, the top 10 most successful gambling companies in Ukraine earned UAH 54.92 billion. This is 28 times more than a year earlier – UAH 1.94 billion.
We would like to add that Pavel Petrichenko, a soldier of the 59th Brigade, registered a petition demanding to restrict the operation of online casinos. In a few hours, it gained the required 25,000 signatures for consideration.
The author of the petition asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy to submit an urgent bill to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that would provide for
- a ban on gambling and access to online casinos for military personnel during martial law;
- a ban on gambling advertising using the symbols of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and any symbols or objects related to war and the army, such as uniforms, helmets, machines, etc;
- a ban for charitable foundations to cooperate with gambling market participants;
- prohibition for military units to accept property in the form of charitable aid from gambling market participants or related individuals or legal entities;
- prohibition of any advertising or public references to the fact that gambling market participants provide charitable assistance to military personnel;
- prohibiting pawnshops from accepting drones, thermal imagers and other similar dual-use goods;
- obligation of internet providers and mobile operators to block websites of illegal casinos.
In 2023, Ukrainians spent almost 400 million hryvnias daily in online casinos, or more than 12 billion per month. The military is most often affected by this industry, which then suffers from “ludomania” (gambling addiction).
It is worth noting that the number of ludomaniacs – people who have limited access to gambling facilities and participation in gambling – is growing year by year. Currently, there are 3,871 people in the register of problem gamblers in Ukraine. Over the past year, the number of people on the list has increased eightfold.
The register has been in existence for three years. The overwhelming majority of problem gamblers (87%) were included in the list in 2023.
Currently, there are three ways for Ukrainians to be included in the Register of Problematic Gamblers
- by applying for self-restriction,
- by the decision of the CRAIL on the basis of a request for restriction from relatives,
- by a court decision.
- Thus, there are no clear statistics on the actual number of citizens with gambling addiction in Ukraine, and the figures from the relevant register do not reflect the full picture.
For gambling addicts in Ukraine, only temporary bans on visiting gambling venues are provided for – for a period of 6 months to 3 years. Upon expiration, these restrictions are automatically terminated.
