Record taxes and losses: what is wrong with the gambling business in Ukraine
23 January 12:30
According to the results of 2025, the Ukrainian gambling industry provided a record 17.4 billion hryvnia in tax revenues to the state budget. This was reported by the Association of Ukrainian Gambling Business Operators (AUGB), according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Despite the growth of the legal segment, the industry faces a serious challenge — large-scale shadowing of the market, which, according to experts, already covers up to half of the industry. According to market representatives, this is what prevents the state from receiving several billion hryvnias in taxes each year.
Record taxes and growth dynamics
AUOGB President Oleksandr Kogut emphasized that compared to the previous year, budget revenues increased by UAH 279 million.
“Compared to the same period last year, we are seeing an increase in tax revenues of UAH 279 million. At the same time, we are convinced that the industry could provide even more — approximately UAH 19.6 billion per year — if it weren’t for the growth of the illegal segment,” said Oleksandr Kogut.
According to the Association, AUOGB members provide about 82% of all tax revenues in the gambling industry, remaining the largest taxpayers in the sector.
What taxes form the main revenues
The structure of tax payments in the gambling industry in 2025 looks like this:
- corporate income tax — UAH 11.2 billion;
- personal income tax — UAH 4.1 billion;
- military tax — UAH 1.2 billion.
These three items form the basis of the fiscal effect of legal gambling on the state budget.
How big is the shadow market?
In 2025, KANTAR, Gradus, and Factum conducted the first independent comprehensive studies in Ukraine on the level of shadowing in the gambling industry.
The results were alarming: the share of the illegal segment ranges from 39% to 53% of the total market.
This means that a significant portion of players’ funds bypasses tax and regulatory control and does not enter the Ukrainian budget.
Why is the “gray” market growing?
According to Oleksandr Kogut, there are several key reasons for this:
- ineffective blocking of illegal gambling sites, a significant portion of which are controlled by citizens of the Russian Federation;
- the migration of Ukrainian players from legal platforms to the shadow segment;
- financial channels through which illegal operators continue to accept payments.
The president of the AUOGB paid special attention to the role of banks and payment systems.
“We see that the Ukrainian banking and payment infrastructure still tolerates the illegal market: they turn a blind eye to miscoding, the obvious use of drops, and various schemes with cryptocurrencies,” Kogut said.
What is expected from the NBU
The AUOGB emphasizes that simply blocking websites is not enough. The key tool in the fight against illegal gambling should be blocking financial flows.
“We sincerely hope that the NBU will help rectify this situation. New compliance requirements for banks and international payment systems, as well as the use of AI, should ensure that illegal bank transactions in illegal casinos are blocked. Without the active intervention of the NBU, with which we have already begun a dialogue, it is impossible to combat illegal gambling in Ukraine. Blocking websites is not enough. Illegal payments to gray casinos must be blocked,” Kogut emphasized.
According to him, dialogue between the Association and the regulator has already begun.
Why is this important for the state?
Reducing the shadow segment by even a few percent could bring billions of hryvnia to the budget — funds that are critically important in the context of war and resource shortages.
Experts emphasize that without systematic interaction between regulators, banks, and payment systems, the legal gambling business will continue to compete with the “gray” zone, losing the potential for growth in tax revenues and the development of the industry as a whole.
