Zelensky announces increased control over online casinos
3 April 2024 13:15
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced tighter control over online casinos in Ukraine. He said this in an evening video address, Komersant ukrainskyi 
reports.
“I held a meeting with the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the State Special Communications Service, and the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council on the situation with online casinos. The reports were informative. We are preparing appropriate steps that will add the necessary control over the industry and help protect the interests of society properly,”
– zelensky said.
The topic of online casinos came to the attention of the President after Pavlo Petrychenko, 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.
The day before, Petrychenko complained that he had been trying to register a petition to restrict gambling for ten days, but it was constantly being rejected for moderation.
On 28 March, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko wrote on Telegram that nine out of 10 soldiers on the frontline have problems with casinos or betting (money betting). The MP did not specify the source of such statistics.
In 2023, Ukrainians spent almost 400 million hryvnias daily in online casinos, or more than 12 billion per month, as reported by Ekonomichna Pravda with reference to the National Bank. 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 problem gamblers on the list increased 8 times. It is reported by Opendatabot with reference to the data of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL).
The register has existed for three years. The overwhelming majority of problem gamblers (87%) were included in the list in 2023.
Currently, Ukrainians can find themselves in the Register of problem gambling addicts in three cases
- 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, Ukraine has no clear statistics on the actual number of citizens with gambling addiction, 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.
