PlayCity Sets Out to Enforce Anti-Gambling Rules Within the Military

Ukrainian gambling watchdog PlayCity has launched a tender for the development of a new software module that will ensure that military personnel are blocked from accessing gambling features. 

Ukraine Is Moving Forward with Plans to Block Military Personnel from Gambling

PlayCity is enforcing a law by the government, which has directed the regulator to ensure that military servicemen and women are prohibited from gambling following fears that Russian operatives are using this dependency to blackmail soldiers, and that associated gambling-related problems are diminishing the army combat readiness. 

Once the module is developed, the Ministry of Defense will implement it and enforce it. The module will tap into information between state registers utilizing the Trembita system, which will enable the technological foundation for checking whether a person is enlisted in the military and therefore prohibited from gambling.

When an account is created, a request will be sent to the Register of Persons Restricted from Access to Gambling, and an automated check will be completed. If a person is a match, they will be denied entry into regulated gambling websites, and licensed venues.

The ministry is hoping to have implemented the resulting software solution by December 24, 2026 at the very latest and it will build upon the existing guardrails implemented before including self-exclusion. 

However, a real risk remains and that is – illegal gambling websites that are purposefully targeting vulnerable people and problem gamblers, especially among army servicemen and women. 

Reports have swirled that both Ukraine and Russia are using honey traps and illegal gambling to obtain sensitive information, stage attacks, and diminish the opposing side’s combat effectiveness. 

While the implementation of mandatory self-exclusion for military personnel constitutes an important overall step