{"id":11876,"date":"2025-12-24T07:54:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/?p=11876"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:54:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:54:20","slug":"2025-summary-ugcs-anton-kuchukhidze-on-the-ukrainian-gambling-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/2025\/12\/24\/2025-summary-ugcs-anton-kuchukhidze-on-the-ukrainian-gambling-market\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Summary: UGC\u2019s Anton Kuchukhidze on the Ukrainian Gambling Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ukrainian gambling market<\/strong> is currently growing rapidly and undergoing many changes. Plans include launching new control systems, blocking illegal operators, and introducing additional measures to protect players. All this is connected with the work of the new regulator, PlayCity<\/strong>. In recent months, it has shown incredible activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SBC Eurasia<\/em> spoke with Anton Kuchukhidze<\/strong>, Chairman of the Ukrainian Gambling Council (UGC)<\/strong>, about PlayCity’s work, the state of the gambling market in Ukraine, and 2026 forecasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 In October alone, PlayCity blocked more than 300 illegal sites, and fines for illegal advertising reached 24 million hryvnia. Do you think these figures testify to the real effectiveness of the new regulator’s work, or is it more a demonstration of its activity? Is the legal market already feeling that the rules of the game have really changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Any government agency needs time to achieve effective results. In principle, if we are talking about the exercise of powers, a year of full-fledged work is a reasonable period to analyze, without manipulation, all the achievements or all the problems that the regulator has not been able to solve. Therefore, it is worth waiting for a certain period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new regulator tried to get out of a rather tricky situation. I believe we will see the main results after a full year of work. Some illegal operators are being blocked, while others are not. If you look at individual cases, you can see that this is happening irregularly: advertising is still there, particularly as bloggers post new advertising materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the advantage of the new regulator is that the work against illegal operators continues \u2013 the fight does not stop. New tools are being developed, and it takes time to see their real effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, in my opinion, it is too early to give a final assessment of whether results have been achieved in the fight against illegal operators. In general, I would like to note that the fight against the illegal market is a constant process that never ends. Global practice confirms this. While it is still possible to cover more or less everything offline, the online sphere is developing so rapidly that it is necessary to work with it every day, constantly accumulating significant resources \u2013 administrative, law enforcement, media, and others \u2013 to counteract the black market effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Despite mass blocking, the illegal segment continues to exist and migrate. Earlier, you wrote that in the US, the shadow sector “eats up” 74% of the market. What is the approximate share of shadow operators in Ukraine now, and why does blocking domains and advertising accounts on social networks not yet solve the problem systematically?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 It’s pretty simple. It is important to understand that there are currently only about 20-25 legal sites in Ukraine. Legal gambling operators are subject to an extremely high level of responsibility and a significant legislative burden, particularly regarding the mandatory verification and identification of players. In addition, players must pay tax on their winnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, many burdensome requirements in the “white” market are completely absent in the “black” market: no taxes on winnings, no verification or identification, minimal restrictions and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, in accordance with current legislation, the state must introduce time limits on a player’s stay in the game, as well as financial restrictions. If these rules are implemented in full without proper control of the illegal segment, a significant portion of players will simply move to the black market, where there are no restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking into account factors such as easy access, no taxes, the development of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency schemes, and electronic money, the illegal market is becoming more competitive and attractive to players. Even the risk of losing winnings or transferring bank details to unknown persons often does not deter users from switching to illegal operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In percentage terms, the situation is striking: with only 20\u201325 legal sites, the number of illegal resources exceeds several thousand. At the same time, the process of blocking illegal platforms is ongoing \u2013 daily and even hourly \u2013 but new sites are still appearing. In fact, we can talk about a thousandfold advantage of the illegal segment over the legal one in terms of the number of online resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why it is impossible to solve the problem systematically and quickly, even despite the existence of correct and necessary initiatives on the part of the government. The scale of the black market remains extremely high and requires a comprehensive, long-term approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Speaking of “gray areas,” you have repeatedly emphasized the problem of controlling the lottery sector, which in fact imitates gambling. Why, despite the reform of the regulator, has the issue of lotteries not yet been resolved, and why are they not equated with gambling in law?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 In fact, the issue of lotteries has already been partially resolved, as the new regulator has approved licensing conditions for lottery activities. From now on, lottery companies must follow the appropriate procedures to obtain licenses and can legally carry out their activities. This means that tax and license revenues from this sector will finally start flowing into the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of today, the situation is still developing. In the near future, we expect to see the first practical results in the form of license and tax payments from lottery operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key task was to create a legislative and regulatory framework. It has been formed but remains imperfect, as lottery companies retain the legal ability to imitate gambling. In this context, it is necessary to strengthen law enforcement oversight of future legal lottery operators to prevent such practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, on the one hand, the issue has been formally resolved, but the challenges remain. At the same time, it is positive that the state has finally adopted licensing conditions that had not been accepted for more than 10\u201311 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 You have repeatedly said that Ukraine still does not have a clear definition of gross gaming revenue (GGR). This complicates tax control and makes the market less attractive to investors. What do you think needs to be done to standardize GGR and build a transparent taxation system?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 It’s very simple \u2013 we need to standardize the terminology. In particular, what GGR is. The difference between all funds received and all funds paid out is GGR. At the same time, sometimes administrative bodies or individual experts believe that GGR is all funds that have come into the gaming establishment, online or offline. This does not comply with international standards or economic logic, but this problem exists due to the lack of a clear legislative definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, it all boils down to a simple solution \u2013 the legislation needs to be changed. But in any country, the gambling business is a complex political issue, and such changes take time. We constantly raise this issue at various levels. Still, it is currently difficult to finalize the process because there is a lobby and numerous behind-the-scenes factors that prevent the standardization of tax terminology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the terms are standardized, the number of investors will increase. The central thesis is to adopt the relevant law. However, this is extremely difficult due to the numerous pitfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The first phase of the State online monitoring system (SOMS) should be operational in December this year. You warned that without tax changes, the launch of the system could harm business. Have the authorities heard this argument, and is the market technically ready for this innovation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Given that the draft law on standardizing tax terminology for the gambling business in Ukraine is currently not on the agenda, it is clear that those in power are not listening to us yet. As a result, the procedure for launching the SOMS is taking place autonomously, without accounting for the issue of differing interpretations of tax terms in the gambling business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conventionally speaking, various administrative bodies already interpret the revenue side differently. Instead of eliminating this problem, the launch of the SOMS will only formally facilitate the work of administrative bodies. In the absence of transparent and unified legislative definitions, they will be able to interpret any figures even more actively and freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without changes to the legislation, there is currently no question of interest rates. A state at war cannot objectively talk about changing tax rates at this time. Accordingly, the only realistic issue that can and should be raised is the unification of tax terminology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in the absence of dialogue at the highest legislative level, the launch of the SOMS will not solve the existing problems but, on the contrary, will exacerbate the contradictions in determining tax obligations between administrative bodies and white business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 When discussing tools for controlling and developing the gaming market, it is important to note the global trend toward the use of artificial intelligence. In your recent article, you noted that only 5% of AI projects are profitable. At the same time, the IT Ukraine Association has announced AI solutions for gambling for 2026. In which areas are Ukrainian operators already successfully using AI today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 <\/strong>I have a very cautious attitude towards artificial intelligence and its use. In the field of gambling, I am convinced that it will take time to apply such technologies effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, many organizers experimented with integrating AI into various processes, including game mechanics, player behavior monitoring, and preventing gambling addiction. At the same time, it is clear that these developments will not be public, as they are internal matters for each company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is definitely a trend toward using AI \u2013 companies are trying to develop appropriate approaches and tools. However, it is too early to talk about a boom. At the global level, critical assessments prevail: according to various estimates, a significant proportion of software solutions using AI (about 30-40%) implemented by companies turn out to be unprofitable. In 2025, there were many similar experiments worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why the gambling industry as a whole is very cautious about AI integration \u2013 it does not see a quick financial return on such investments. Testing and gradual integration will undoubtedly continue, but this process will not be quick, since even at the global level, gambling does not yet see a clear capitalization of the costs of implementing such tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My position is simple: it is worth waiting, observing, and analyzing. In my opinion, the first reasonable conclusions about the situation in Ukraine can be made at the end of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Since October 2025, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and PlayCity have been discussing the introduction of official limits for players. How will this work in practice? Won’t strict restrictions in the legal sector lead to an outflow of players to illegal sites?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 <\/strong>I completely agree. The introduction of strict limits will actually encourage players to switch to black sites \u2013 that’s obvious. In addition, the time limits for the land-based segment are unacceptable, as its operations are already significantly limited by curfew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If additional time restrictions are introduced, players will lose all motivation to play. For land-based gambling operators, this poses a serious challenge, given the limited time, frequent air raid alerts, security risks, and power supply issues. Power cuts create additional difficulties for staying in establishments, even with energy-saving solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, such limits may lead to the closure of some legal land-based establishments, particularly affecting small and medium-sized businesses. We have repeatedly submitted relevant initiatives, proposals, and recommendations to the regulator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian Gambling Council’s position is clear: state-imposed time and spending limits are unnecessary. Players should set their own limits. European experience, particularly in the Czech Republic, shows that a mechanism of self-imposed limits does not lead to players leaving for illegal sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Summing up the results of 2025, what forecasts can be made for the next year? Earlier, you said that the market will grow by a third in the next 2-4 years. What should be the primary driver of this growth: the return of foreign investors, technology exports, or domestic demand?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 <\/strong>I said that if certain conditions are met, the market could grow threefold, fourfold, fivefold, or even more. However, we are all currently in the process of transformation. Potential indicators of growth in the gambling market, even in wartime, have not yet been met, so it is tough to talk about real growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Ukraine lacks a unified tax terminology for the gambling sector. It is necessary to strengthen the fight against the black market significantly. The lottery market has not actually been launched yet. The SOMS should only be implemented after legislative changes and the unification of tax terminology in accordance with international standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the legislation becomes clear and predictable for international partners, the number of market participants will grow. This will bring international experience, new technologies, and healthy competition, driving the industry’s development. At the moment, we are finalizing the system we have already created, so we should not expect a massive influx of new companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate problem remains the tax on winnings, which is still unclear to many foreign partners. It is obvious that this approach needs to be changed, or the taxation mechanism revised. The ideal model is a zero tax rate on winnings. At the same time, given the war and the state’s need for funds, a clear definition of the threshold at which such a tax applies could be a minimum compromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice shows that marketing and voluntary mechanisms for attracting funds during the game can bring the state more revenue than direct taxation of winnings. Knowing in advance that tax will be withheld from their winnings negatively affects a player’s perception of the process. On the other hand, voluntary payments, charitable donations, or donation mechanisms are perceived much more easily and positively \u2013 especially when the player is in an emotionally comfortable state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are psychological factors that can and should be taken into account when filling the budget with alternative, modern instruments. If all these parameters are met, the legislation will become understandable to foreign partners, the market will become competitive and civilized, and state revenues will show a steady upward trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget to subscribe to our\u00a0Telegram channel!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ukrainian gambling market is currently growing rapidly and undergoing many changes. Plans include launching new control systems, blocking illegal operators, and introducing additional measures to protect players. All this is connected with the work of the new regulator, PlayCity. In recent months, it has shown incredible activity.  SBC Eurasia spoke with Anton Kuchukhidze, Chairman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[565,1,564,29],"tags":[399,12006,116,4603,402,397],"class_list":["post-11876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-news","category-slider","category-stories","tag-anton-kuchukhidze","tag-playcity","tag-regulation","tag-taxation","tag-ugc","tag-ukrainian-gambling-council"],"yoast_head":"\n2025 Summary: UGC\u2019s Anton Kuchukhidze on the Ukrainian Gambling Market - SBC EURASIA EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SBC Eurasia spoke with Anton Kuchukhidze, Chairman of the Ukrainian Gambling Council (UGC), about PlayCity's work, the state of the gambling market in Ukraine, and 2026 forecasts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/2025\/12\/24\/2025-summary-ugcs-anton-kuchukhidze-on-the-ukrainian-gambling-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2025 Summary: UGC\u2019s Anton Kuchukhidze on the Ukrainian Gambling Market - 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