Ukraine’s Vote on Gambling Law Amendments Delayed Again

A bill that seeks to implement changes to the provision of national gambling law in Ukraine was put aside by the national legislature implying further delays to the legal process.

Vote Did Not Go Ahead

Bill 2713-D that also has provisions for Tax Code amendments was on the Parliament’s agenda for voting on Friday, December 3 but Ukrainian representatives spent the parliamentary session debating on other topics and developments and the expected vote on the bill did not go ahead.

The development means betting and gaming operators and stakeholders with interest to operate in the country will have to wait further before the amendments to the Gambling Law are approved and implemented.

Much to the industry’s discontent, the parliamentary session ran out of time while considering other developments, leaving some hopes that the bill hearing will take in a fortnight but even the chances for that are “grim” according to SBC Brand Ambassador to the region Ilya Machavariani.

From the moment of its introduction in August until now, the repeated delays linked to the bill brought only frustration to industry stakeholders for being unable to commence operations under the newly re-regulated gambling market, lacking clarity on taxation and technical requirements.

Prior to being scheduled for December 3, the vote on Bill 2713-D was delayed initially until the end of November and the latest development implies the possibility of a delay for an undetermined period.

Bill 2713-D

The first hearing of Bill 2713-D in the summer received the backing of the Parliament’s Committee of Finance, Customs and Taxes despite warnings from the Scientific and Expert Management Committee that there was not enough evidence to justify a decrease in the tax burden on holders of gambling licenses in the country.

The issue was due to the proposal to treat all gambling verticals equally with a flat rate of 10% on gross revenue which sought to replace the initial plan for a tax scheme with a rate ranging from 10% to 30%.

The new proposal also sought to amend plans for a hike in licensing fees to take place until the country’s central monitoring system becomes operational, impacting licensing fee revenue by bringing it down nearly three times in the period before the system’s launch.

The controversial proposal also placed a threshold on player winnings of 8 times the annual minimum salary in Ukraine, approximately $1,750, above which all winning will be subjected to a winning tax.