Ukraine Wants Real-Time Online Gambling Oversight

At the start of June, we announced that Ukraine’s new gambling regulator, PlayCity, had begun operations to gain more control over illegal operators.

Now, the war-ridden country wants even more transparency and accountability for its gambling sector. 

Ready to Fight the “Shadow Market”

This week, the Ministry of Digital Transformation announced its plans for a nationwide online gambling monitoring system, inviting IT companies to help design the platform. 

In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry said it wants the new system to “help monitor the operational activities of legal casinos, fight the shadow market, and build a predictable tax policy for the country.”

Plus, the platform should be able to track all bets in real time, display detailed data on wagers placed, refunded, and paid out, as well as make market volume figures public and clarify how much tax revenue is owed. 

“At the first stage of development, we want to collect feedback from technology companies to develop a convenient, effective, and understandable system for all users,” the statement added.

IT firms that wish to contribute their input regarding the project’s direction have until July 18 to register for the online consultation scheduled for July 21.

The initiative reflects a growing determination among Ukrainian officials to clean up the gambling industry, which has flourished despite the war. 

Ukrainians Will Have a Say 

In recent years, the government has cracked down on unlicensed operators, partly to prevent Ukrainian money from flowing to Russia-based websites and partly in response to public frustration over widespread corruption.

Those same concerns led to the dismantling of Ukraine’s gambling regulator, the Ukrainian Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL), earlier this year. 

KRAIL, created in 2020 when gambling was re-legalized after an 11-year ban, had faced repeated accusations of bribery and abuse of power. 

In March 2025, it was replaced by a new agency, PlayCity, which has been tasked with implementing stricter controls.

Now, three months into PlayCity’s tenure, the government is building an independent anti-corruption expert group within the regulator. 

This group, which will include representatives from public organisations, will help shape reforms and oversee PlayCity’s activities to prevent the same problems that plagued its predecessor.

Ordinary Ukrainians will also have a say, as the group’s members will be chosen through a vote on Diya, the country’s e-government app. 

Only representatives of NGOs working on anti-corruption, gambling addiction, or illegal gambling prevention are eligible to run, while civil servants, former KRAIL or PlayCity staff, gambling operators, and their relatives are barred.