Gambling could add €170m to Ukraine’s state budget

The Prime Minister of Ukraine said that he hopes that the Parliament supports the legalisation of gambling as it could add millions to the state budget.

Ukraine.- Olesky Honcharuk, Prime Minister of Ukraine, said that he expects the Parliament to support a bill that legalises gambling in Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is expecting approval in order to perceive higher revenues in the state budget.

During a briefing in which Honcharuk presented the draft state budget for 2020, he said that the industry would be taxed properly, Ukrinform reported. “We are looking forward to Parliament supporting the gambling bill, removing these vending machines from the streets, which will create so much misery for people and take money out of them. At the same time, we anticipate that a normal civilized gambling system, which will be taxed properly, will be created,” Honcharuk said.

The Prime Minister estimates that gambling could add €170 million to the state budget. The new estimations are way higher than what Honcharuk had predicted in the past. He had said that legalising gambling in Ukraine would result in additional €70 million – €88 million to the budget.

Finance Minister showed similar figures

Finance Minister Oksana Markarova said that gambling could generate between €177 million and €319 million. In an interview with lb.ua, Markarova said that according to conservative estimates, the industry can be fully mobilised if everything works out. Gambling Bill 2285 was finalised and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.