What Happened in Gambling Community? Key January News by Ukrainian Gaming Week 2022

The first weeks of 2022 were quite busy for the gambling community. Different countries introduced new regulatory requirements, established specialized associations and entered into new promising partnerships.

Key Ukrainian and foreign events are described in the selection by Ukrainian Gaming Week 2022.

Ukraine’s gambling news

Two legal betting providers appeared in Ukraine. On January 18, representatives of KRAIL decided to issue a license to VBET and FAN SPORT. At the same time, the Committee permitted FAN SPORT to organize and conduct online casino games.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian gambling community is waiting for the adoption of bill No. 2713-d. It stipulates amendments to the Tax Code and other laws of Ukraine in order to reduce the income tax for gambling organizers. Besides, one offers to cancel the triple cost of licenses. According to experts, the adoption of the document will allow more than 20 foreign gambling companies to enter the Ukrainian market.

KRAIL has published the infographics revealing a number of players who have limited access to gambling. As of January 1, the corresponding register includes 195 people. By the way, there are three ways to enter it: to apply for self-restriction, by the reasoned request of family members or by decision of a court.

In January, the largest Kyiv-based casino, Favbet Casino, opened its doors. It is located in Mercure Hotel and featured five comfortable rooms. The venue has 21 gambling tables and 146 slots by world’s leading providers – Novomatic, EGT, IGT.

Meantime, JKR Investment Group, a fund of Parimatch co-owners, acquired a share in the Ukrainian company engaged in Trionika traffic generation and monetization. According to Forbes Ukraine, it is the first public deal on the traffic arbitrage market. The parties refused to reveal its cost and share size, although, according to competitors’ estimates, it was a controlling stake amounting to $10-20 million.

Global gambling news

The Parliament of Armenia adopted the draft on introducing amendments to the Law on Advertising in the first reading. According to it, the country should ensure the single gambling business policy and set equal requirements to gambling companies. It is expected that gambling advertising will be permitted only in 4-star and more hotels, on checkpoints and buildings carrying out this activity.

The regulatory policy of Belarus also faced some changes. Since January 1, 2022, the country has increased tax rates by 10%. Thus, operators should pay 7854 RUB for a gambling table, 264 RUB for a slot machine, 1650 RUB for sportsbook, 2475 RUB for a betting pool.

Georgia increased tax rates for online casinos, resulting in the first illegal gambling websites. Since January 1, the government has toughened the regulatory policy, leading to the first failures in gambling operations. Betlive refused to be a sponsor of Dynamo FC Tbilisi. Another consequence is the dismissal of capital’s Lokomotiv because of insufficient financing.

At the same time, more than a half of Lithuanian gambling market representatives united into the Responsible Gambling Association. It was founded by leading companies: Casino Admiral, BetGames, 7bet, Top Sport, Admiral Club. Operators believe that illegal gambling is highly developed in Lithuania, which is dangerous to players due to the absence of restrictions and aggressive marketing campaigns. The association is aimed at enhancing the image of legal gambling, conducting information work with gamblers, as well as developing the code of ethics for businesses.

January also featured major cooperation. 1xBet partnered with several Brazilian tournaments in 2022. It is known that except for placement of advertising banners, the operator has gained the right for naming of several matches.

The National lottery company of Kirghizia has partnered with Elbet and Axel Capital. The companies won the government tender allowing them to promote lottery activities in the country.

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You will be able to discover top news of the Ukrainian gambling community on March 23-24 at Ukrainian Gaming Week 2022. Take part in networking with Ukrainian gambling experts!

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