Ukraine’s gambling watchdog ordered access to 549 sites blocked. KRAIL has already blocked over 1,000 sites in Ukraine. This is despite coming into effect last year. Plus, the country relaunched its regulated gambling market in 2020.
The Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries in Ukraine started operations in 2020. Yet the gambling watchdog has blocked access to over 1,000 websites. This comes as the country relaunched its regulated gambling market in 2020.
The gambling watchdog issued orders to block access to an additional 594 illegal gambling websites. This is in line with KRAIL’s crackdown to take the total number of blocked sites to over 1,000. The regulator also shut down 100 land-based establishments.
Three court judgments resulted in the block orders. The court found the sites guilty of breaching the country’s Criminal Code Article 203-2. This was according to KRAIL’s investigations. The regulator also uncovered computer equipment and seized several gambling machines.
The details of the investigations are in Ukraine’s Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. KRAIL also called for tip-offs from the general public regarding illegal gambling. The gambling watchdog said this will help it in investigations.
June 2021 saw the regulator issue warnings to operators over illegal advertising. The regulator threatened to prosecute any operator found guilty of violating the regulations. Ukraine’s advertising laws in Article 22 prohibits gambling advertisements on various media. Outdoor advertising is illegal.
KRAIL’s warnings came after the regulator detected several breaches of the law. The gambling watchdog went ahead to ask the operators to take comprehensive measures to stop the breach. It said the failure to take corrective measures will lead to its application of the relevant laws to prosecute offenders.
KRAIL concluded by clarifying the purpose of these policies is to ensure organizers create spaces to lower social risks occasioned by their organization. It also stated the policy aims at ensuring compliance by the various gambling organizers.
June also saw the gambling regulator publish new responsible gambling regulations. One of the highlights in the provisions was the ban on bonuses that depend on a player’s loss. That means operators cannot offer customers any form of bonus after losing money.
Other rules included in the provisions are players’ responsibility when it comes to self-exclusion. Setting deposit limits and checking the time they’ve spent on gambling is also included in the provisions. KRAIL also requires operators to train their staff to spot problem gambling signs.
The operator also published the country’s national gambling exclusion system. The system allows gamblers to self-exclude for a period of six months to three years.