{"id":9507,"date":"2025-05-20T13:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/?p=9507"},"modified":"2025-05-20T13:18:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:18:25","slug":"cosmobet-why-the-ukrainian-gambling-market-is-repeating-the-mistakes-of-woke-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/2025\/05\/20\/cosmobet-why-the-ukrainian-gambling-market-is-repeating-the-mistakes-of-woke-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Cosmobet: Why the Ukrainian Gambling Market Is Repeating the Mistakes of \u201cWoke\u201d Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commentary and opinion by Mykhailo Zborovsky, Beneficiary of the Ukrainian Gaming Platform Cosmobet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever considered that cancelling might not be a fight for justice, but rather a new form of intolerance? What if the hate, served under the guise of morality, actually fuels more hatred and deepens societal polarisation? Instead of dialogue \u2014 public destruction.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of reflection \u2014 fear of saying too much. As a result, we begin to hate what we should have calmly accepted.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pressure doesn\u2019t heal \u2014 it inflames. A clear example of this is woke culture. It started strong: equality, respect, opposition to discrimination. But over time, it turned into fear. Boycotts, scandals, pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is exactly the current reality of the gambling industry in Ukraine. And paradoxically, its marginalisation mirrors the path of woke culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only in our case, it\u2019s not Western activism, but an old Soviet habit: don\u2019t understand it \u2014 ban it. Afraid of it \u2014 destroy it. Ignore everything that doesn\u2019t fit into a convenient image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why it\u2019s worth talking about woke culture \u2014 even if it feels like \u201cIt\u2019s Not About Us\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woke culture began as a powerful movement for justice, equality, and visibility. It redefined moral standards in media, politics, and corporate environments. It was an attempt to make the world more sensitive and humane \u2014 and in its early days, the idea was truly inspiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But over time, something went wrong. Gradually, the culture that was meant to liberate began to impose rigid boundaries. Increasingly, it didn\u2019t give people a voice \u2014 it dictated what and how they were allowed to say. Instead of organic evolution, we got control over language, thought, and context. The idea stopped expanding the space \u2014 and started narrowing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the US, where journalists were fired for old tweets. Imagine that. In the UK, careers were ruined over a single wrong word in an interview. A striking example: a BBC host was fired after comparing a royal baby to a monkey. In Hollywood, actors lost roles over old comments that didn\u2019t align with modern ethical standards. Comedian Kevin Hart even stepped down from hosting the Oscars after the public resurfaced his past homophobic remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, even J.K. Rowling \u2014 the author of a beloved book series that shaped an entire generation \u2014 was publicly \u201ccancelled\u201d by part of her fanbase over her views on gender identity. This case became a symbol of the era, when society began to demand that people be hired not only for their hard or soft skills but first and foremost based on principles of inclusivity and diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when the movement began to lose trust. Even those who sincerely supported it started to go silent \u2014 not because their values had changed, but because they felt their freedom was gone. When empathy becomes a tool of pressure, even the brightest idea turns into a source of exhaustion \u2014 and starts to collapse from within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unnatural evolution of woke culture led to harmful consequences of excessive tolerance. In trying to include every possible identity, society began punishing those who thought differently or spoke outside the new moral canon. Public figures were fired, \u201ccanceled,\u201d and reputationally destroyed for words taken out of context or for opinions that just yesterday were considered acceptable. In fact, one of the key factors behind Trump\u2019s victory was the public\u2019s fatigue with cancel culture \u2014 ordinary people no longer wanted to live in fear of saying the \u201cwrong\u201d thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar scenario in gambling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When any issue becomes overly dramatised, it ultimately leads to collapse from all sides. First, those who disagree are canceled. Then, the culture itself is canceled. The result is overwhelming negativity and fatigue. It\u2019s aggressive canceling that sets this mechanism in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar process is unfolding today in Ukraine\u2019s gambling industry. This sector was legalised in 2020 and, in theory, should have developed steadily under market rules. Instead, it is being cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite its real economic potential, billions in state revenue, and job creation, the industry is under pressure \u2014 both from society and the government. And the scale is staggering: everything even remotely connected to gambling is being cancelled. People working in the industry. Partners who collaborate with it. The market itself as a legitimate business sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s absurd \u2014 this is a legal industry, entitled to the same rights as any other business. Logically, it should be supported, allowed to grow organically, and helped to rebuild its reputation. Instead, there are populist statements and reputational attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a textbook case of moral canceling. Not based on facts \u2014 but on prejudice, convenient enemy images, and political rhetoric. A legal business is being stripped of its tools, users retreat to the shadows, where there is no regulation or protection. This creates the illusion of fighting the problem, when in reality it only worsens it \u2014 the shadow market grows, and the state loses both control and revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History repeats itself: just like with woke culture, a good idea (in this case \u2014 a regulated market) loses public trust not because of its own flaws, but because it becomes a convenient target. The mechanism is the same: first comes approval, then the twisting of meanings, and finally \u2014 a reputational assault that solves nothing but creates the illusion of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the public space, there are no arguments left \u2014 only slogans. Society doesn\u2019t discuss regulation models or seek balance \u2014 it consumes simplified stories of \u201cgood\u201d and \u201cbad,\u201d tailor-made for media campaigns. Meanwhile, complex but effective solutions are pushed out of the discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canceling \u0456sn\u2019t about justice \u2014 it\u2019s a convenient tool for those unwilling to go deeper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, cancelling appears noble \u2014 a fight for ethics. But in reality, it\u2019s an oversimplification taken to the extreme, leaving no room for understanding or facts. It\u2019s a way to eliminate those who don\u2019t fit someone\u2019s personal worldview \u2014 often not for their actions, but for their words; not for their intentions, but for their tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mechanism always works the same way \u2014 just like with woke culture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n