Ukraine – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations

Finding the best Ukrainian casino online

While prohibited under Ukrainian law, a growing number of international online casinos are accepting players from the country, albeit at the player’s own risk should they get caught. Therefore, it’s always worth checking in advance if a site prevents players from certain countries ahead of signing up. From there, you’ll find that GoodLuckMate’s casino reviews are packed with details on welcome bonuses, significant terms and conditions relating to bonuses and/or free spins, the payment methods available for both deposits and withdrawals, plus your options for contacting customer support. And, as we’re all huge casino games enthusiasts ourselves, you’ll get all the juicy details on the kind of video slots, progressive jackpots, table games, poker titles, and more there, too. Before signing up, ensure that you have followed this short checklist:

• Have you read GoodLuckMate’s reviews?
• Is your chosen payment method available?
• What currencies can you use at the site?
• Can you contact a Ukrainian support agent?
• Have you thoroughly checked all the T&Cs?

If you still want to proceed at your own risk, be sure to click or tap the GoodLuckMate welcome bonus banners on each review to grab yourself the latest and greatest deals.

Gambling regulation – Gambling Ban and the Draft Law

Gambling was officially banned under Ukrainian law in 2009 after a fatal fire in a Dnipropetrovsk casino killed nine people. At the time, the Law On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine (Gambling Ban Law) was passed by parliament and came into immediate effect two days later. Since then, however, certain gambling activities have been sanctioned by the government under a new Draft Law from 2010 onwards, which also led to the creation of the National Gambling Operator regulatory body that has the power to issue licenses to third party companies.

Under the Draft Law, gaming zones were also set up (see Casinos in Ukraine below), poker was officially legalized by being recognized as a sport, and seven-year licenses were created for private gambling operators – although the cost of the latter amounted to millions of euros, which made it fairly restrictive. Lotteries were also given the green light under previous laws that still stand today, so they are not considered gambling. However, online casinos remain illegal due to the government’s concerns over vulnerable people being able to access such sites easily. Therefore, we do not recommend playing at an online casino from within the country.

Localized online casinos

While gambling sites are prohibited in Ukraine, there are a small number of international brands that do offer their sites in the Ukrainian language should you wish to play from another country. You will also find a few customer support agents that speak Ukrainian, as well as a handful of live casino tables available in the language. However, it is very rare to find an online casino site that accepts deposits and withdrawals in Ukrainian hryvnia, so you will more than likely have to use an alternative form of currency such as the euro, Russian rouble or the US dollar instead.

Casinos in Ukraine

Gambling at land-based casinos is perfectly legal within the aforementioned gaming zones. These are located within the Autonomous Region of Crimea and the various tourist towns within that area, as well as four- or five-star hotels with a minimum of 100 rooms, some entertainment venues across the country and certain ships that have been registered within Ukraine – for the latter, think of huge cruise ships and the like, with their own gambling entertainment onboard.

All this means that it’s perfectly possible to play slots and table games at land-based casinos in all of the major cities, including the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Odesa. There are certain rules that must be obeyed, however. These include adhering to strict dress codes and so-called face control – the latter essentially being a bouncer’s judgment call about whether you are the right type of clientele regarding your looks, style, and supposed wealth.