Ukraine is still forging ahead with the plans to tighten the country’s laws on the gambling industry despite the staunchest of opponents to the gaming industry continuing to rot in the gulag. Legislative changes so far have been similar to the hardline adopted by neighbors Russia that are strict to say the least. It doesn’t mean that some firms haven’t been benefiting though.
Recent changes saw the Ukrainian parliament pass legislation designed to crack down on the operations of unregulated casinos and internet cafes. It also involved aggressively going after the individuals and companies that were involved in the practices.
According to Vostok Report, the lotteries market has seen the fruit of the gaming industry ban as they no longer have to pay back any proceeds to the state. Finance.ua reports that in the first five months of the year, the turnover for lotteries in the country hit €56million compared with €34m for the same period in 2010. That was back when the lottery business was regulated by the state.
Back in 2010 the state saw returns of €9.4m after the total turnover of the market reached €87m and it came after the lottery industry was frozen by the government back in 2005 when they refused to grant any more licenses. If you compare the 2005 figure of €35m, you can see the amount of growth that the market has seen despite the changes put in place by the government.
According to the four lottery operators that are licensed, the reason for the growth has been the ban on other gambling industry activities such as slot machines. Add to this the fact the country continues to benefit from the even harder line taken by Russia and it does a lot to explain why the lotteries continue to prosper.
