250 licences and aggressive enforcement – PlayCity’s first year regulating gambling in Ukraine
PlayCity’s first annual report highlights advances in innovation, licensing, taxation and enforcement.
Ukraine. The Ukrainian gambling regulator PlayCity has published its first annual report since taking over from the previous authority, KRAIL. The report highlights advances in licensing, taxation, and enforcement and digital innovation.
The regulator, which works alongside the Ministry of Digital Transformation, said its inaugural year has laid the groundwork for a more tightly controlled market. According to the report, it issued 250 licences in 2025–26 after rolling out digital licensing via the government’s Diia portal.
Licence fees generated more than UAH569m (€11m) for the state budget. The regulator issued 11 licences for gambling operators, three for lottery operators and 213 for gaming equipment suppliers.
Lottery licensing alone brought in UAH72m after an application window was opened in December following over a decade in which lottery operators’ activities were unregulated. Tax receipts from licensed lottery operators surpassed UAH 74m in the first quarter of 2026, also the first quarter with regulated lottery operations.
Overall, gambling organisers contributed an estimated UAH14bn in taxes, with an additional UAH2bn collected in personal income tax linked to the sector, according to the regulator’s report.
PlayCity reported aggressive enforcement actions against unlicensed operators, imposing fines exceeding UAH988m for legal violations and around UAH80m for breaches of advertising rules. In May, the regulator introduced an online complaints platform to speed up public reporting of illegal gambling ads.
The agency also said that it blocked more than 4,100 illegal gambling websites and over 700 social media accounts tied to unlawful promotions. It says sites can now be taken down within a single day.
DSOM and digital monitoring
A major development has been the launch of the Ukraine’s State Online Gambling Monitoring system (DSOM) tracking transactions such as bets, payouts, and returns. Eleven operators have already been connected.
PlayCity head Gennedy Novikov described the initiative as “creating infrastructure that the state actually did not have. We are building data-driven regulation – a model in which decisions are made based on data. For such a dynamic market, this is critical. The state should not catch up with problems, but see risks before they become a crisis.”
Social safeguards also featured prominently in the report. PlayCity said it processed more than 3,000 requests for gambling restrictions and created a register of individuals with gaming addiction. In cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Economy, financial and time limits were introduced, while the regulator also introduced Principles of Responsible Gaming, and measures were coordinated with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Digital Affairs to prevent military personnel from gambling.
Automated systems now cross-check log-in attempts against military rosters and exclusion lists, blocking access when restricted individuals are identified.
PlayCity reported that it oversaw 13 government resolutions and issued ten ministry orders covering areas such as premises permits, reporting frameworks, unique player identifiers, and DSOM connectivity rules. Draft amendments to the Tax Code, Gambling Law, and Lottery Law have been prepared and submitted to parliament.
