A recently-proposed piece of gambling legislation seeks to help companies that are trying to get gambling licenses in Ukraine pay lower taxes.
However, in order for this to happen while a regulatory and monitoring system for the gambling sector is being brought into effect, the country’s Government is set to review the new piece of legislation. As mentioned above, the proposed bill is aimed at reducing licensing and upkeep taxes for gambling companies that are willing to offer their services in the regulated Ukrainian gambling market. Under the provisions of the new bill, gambling license holders will no longer be expected to pay massive fees while there is still no active monitoring system in the country.
If the bill is turned into law, it would be sufficient for gambling license holders to pay considerably lower licensing fees, depending on the part of the gambling market they want to operate in. for example, under the provisions of the bill, sports betting companies would be required to pay licensing fees of $1 million in comparison to the $3-million fees they were required to previously pay. If the new bill is turned into law, the holders of interactive casino licenses would have to pay licensing fees of $250,000 in comparison the almost $800,000 fee they were required to pay as originally propose.
Furthermore, while there is no monitoring system, gambling license holders would be required to carry out an audit themselves and then present it to the local tax authorities as soon as that monitoring system is officially established. The aforementioned monitoring system is expected to arrive no later than the middle of 2021 in accordance with the newly proposed bill.
The New Bill Set to Help Ukraine Liberalize Its Gambling Industry
The amendment sought by the recently proposed bill is to help the country liberalize its gambling market, as some cross-border server locations would be allowed, too. This would make it possible for operators in other European countries to start offering their gambling products legally in Ukraine. It would also not be necessary for them to make too large investments in the country because they would basically be able to use their already existing servers.
This means that such companies would be able to locate their servers in the European Economic Area of Ukraine, and countries that are categorized as appropriate in regard to the regulatory standards would consider when a license is being renewed.
As for the monitoring system, an international testing agency will have to be appointed by the Parliament in order for the impartialness and safety of the monitoring system is guaranteed. This is expected to happen on January 1st, 2021, with the monitoring system set to allow the Ukrainian Government and watchdogs to track the deposits and bets in real time, as well as the winnings generated by local players.
Ukraine has fallen a little behind as far as adopting gambling is concerned. However, since August 2020, noticeable process on the liberalization of the sector has been made in the country, including the establishment of an independent watchdog aimed at overseeing gambling. Furthermore, key officials have already been appointed by the Gambling and Lotteries Regulatory Commission, with the latter being ready to start issuing operating licenses.
