Ukrainian President Zelensky Announces Plans to Legalize Gambling

Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, has given us a short taste of what he plans to operate in the country with a proposed gambling bill to re-legalize wagering. This decleration of his would allow casinos in five-star hotels. He has already promised to legalize the operations of casinos while attending the Ukrainian-Turkish business forum in Turkey last month. Let’s take a look. 

To learn more about this story, we need the background first. Ukraine banned all kinds of gambling activities back in 2009, when a fire in a gambling hall killed nine people. However, 2016 saw the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine submit a bill to Verkhovna Rada, in a proposition to legalize gambling and a system of control over the organization of casinos, betting shops and lotteries. You can find similar stories at the latest online gambling news. 

President Zelensky Talks the Talk

Since the ban of the gambling industry in Ukraine, the state budget missed billions of hryvnias. What’s more, this heist of introducing the gambling market back to Ukraine is also a proposed move to boost up their tourist attractions. 

Here’s what President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his own words:

“We will legalize gambling, namely, the operation of casinos in five-star hotels, which will stimulate the development of the region’s tourism cluster near the Black Sea. We also want to grow together here. Therefore, we want to see Turkish businesses as our partners rather than competitors,”

It is expected that the budget of Ukraine would receive an additional revenue of about UAH 10bn in case of gambling legalization. 

More recently, President Zelensky has instructed the government and the parliamentary majority to develop and implement laws to legalize gambling in the country before December 2020. 

A report has quoted Zelensky of saying:

 “Concerning measures to remove the economy from the shadows: to prepare bills on the legalisation of the gambling industry and legalisation of amber production and submit them to the parliament. The deadline is October 1, 2019,”

Do you think that President Zelensky is doing the right thing by pushing for gambling to be re-regulated in the state? Will this plan come to fruition? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.