A year ago, a law came into force that marked the beginning of the reform of the gambling and lottery market in Ukraine. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine took over the coordination of the reform, and the state agency PlayCity was created to implement it.
The goal of the reform is to create a transparent, controlled, and accountable gambling and lottery market. The first year of work has laid the foundation for systemic changes, writes Acting Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov.
Revenues to the state budget
In 2025, PlayCity resumed licensing of gambling organizers and lottery operators. The State Budget of Ukraine received for 2025:
- over 1.7 billion hryvnias from gambling licenses;
- almost 17 billion hryvnias in tax revenues from gambling;
- more than 72 million hryvnias from lottery operator licenses.
According to Bornyakov, the state did not receive any license revenues from this market for over 12 years until it was restarted in 2025.
Fighting the illegal gambling market
According to published information, for the year:
- blocked over 3,500 illegal gambling sites;
- more than 500 social media accounts that illegally advertised gambling were deleted;
- imposed penalties on 16 bloggers and media outlets for illegal advertising of gambling.
PlayCity has built systematic cooperation with law enforcement agencies, in particular with the Bureau of Economic Security, thanks to which it has begun to systematically identify individuals responsible for illegal gambling advertising. To quickly stop online advertising violations, the state agency PlayCity has established rapid interaction with Meta, TikTok, Viber, and Google.
Combating gambling addiction and protecting players
The Ministry of Digital Affairs has introduced:
- financial and time limits for playing;
- principles of responsible gaming: it is prohibited to stimulate players through bonuses, gifts, alcohol, promotions, cashbacks, “free spins” and other incentives, including for losses;
- new requirements for businesses regarding monitoring player behavior, the possibility of self-restriction through the organizer, and support in case of detection of gambling addiction;
- A convenient mechanism for restricting gambling on the site.
A separate, very important focus is the safety of the military. Together with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Affairs has for the first time created a mechanism to restrict the participation of military personnel in gambling. The resolution is currently under public discussion.
Market Transparency: State Online Monitoring System
The State Online Monitoring System has been developed – a complex IT system that records all operational activities of gambling organizers in real time. Currently, the connection of gambling organizers to the State Online Monitoring System is underway.
Transparency of the state regulator's activities
For the first time, through the Action, civil society representatives were elected to the Independent Anti-Corruption Expert Group at PlayCity through open voting. This is an additional level of control over the activities of the state regulator and a guarantee of transparency of actions and accountability to society.
Plans for 2026
The reform of the gambling and lottery market is a multi-level complex process that requires systematic, continuous and effective work of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the state agency PlayCity, the Government, law enforcement agencies, the NBU, the Verkhovna Rada, and specialized committees.
Improving legislation is the next critical step. This will establish the basic norms necessary for the transparent operation of the industry and broader de-shadowing. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has already prepared three draft laws on amendments to:
1. Tax Code.
2. Law on Gambling.
3. Lottery Law.
The documents are under public discussion. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is expected to consider them this year.