News in the Gambling Industry of Ukraine, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Monaco

When did the law on gambling business legalization come into effect in Ukraine? How much income can one get from betting on fixed matches? Which Bulgarian agency was delegated the power of gambling regulator and what kind of equipment appeared in Monte-Carlo Casino? Read about these and other news of the gambling market in the weekly digest.

Zelensky signed the law on gambling business legalization in Ukraine

On August 11, 2020, the President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law that legalizes gambling business in Ukraine, as was reported on the website of the Ukrainian government.

On August 12, the new law was officially published in the Verkhovna Rada’s newspaper Holos Ukrayiny. The new legislation came into effect the next day after the publication – on August 13.

According to the new law, Ukraine legalizes land-based and online casinos, land-based betting outlets and online betting, slot machine halls and online poker. The document defines the body that will monitor the activity of gambling operators, sets requirements to organizers of gambling activities and equipment, and introduces gambling advertising rules. Besides, the document specifies the cost of licenses, requirements to location of gambling facilities, minimum age of players and employees of gambling companies.

Europol evaluated the revenue obtained by organizers of fixed matches

Referring to Sportradar’s data, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) reports that revenues of criminal groups from illegal betting on fixed matches reach €120 million per year. Individuals involved in sports corruption act at the international level. They mainly focus on low-level competitions. Football suffers from match fixing more often than other sports, reports IGB.

Europol’s report notes that during COVID-19 pandemic, when sports competitions were cancelled due to quarantine restrictions, matches took place in several European countries, existing only on paper in fact.

New electronic tables for live betting on roulette at Monte-Carlo Casino

Using the new equipment, casino visitors can bet on roulette games that take place at classical tables for other guests in real time. Visitors can watch the game process streamed on screens.

Guests can place bets on the French, English, and electronic roulettes at the same time with the minimum bet of €1.

With the electronic table for live betting on games, Monte-Carlo Casino plans attracting young people up to 35 years old that are used to playing casino games via gadgets.

Proposal to restrict the online gambling time in Sweden

Swedish Equality Commission published a report, putting forward an initiative to restrict the activity of online gambling operators. The commission offered to allow operators work within certain time limits. The document does not contain any recommendations as to when gambling operators should conduct their activities, reports IGB.

Another initiative of the commission is to create a platform that would allow monitoring player activity at all gambling companies operating in the legal market. Using this service, gamblers would set a maximum deposit amount they would be able to spend within 24 hours. It would help to fight against gambling addiction.

Besides, the commission provided data about the number of problem-gamblers in Sweden. The report says that around 2% of the country’s population suffers from gambling addiction. 0.4% of them are said to have severe addiction.

Gambling regulation was delegated to a new agency in Bulgaria

National Revenue Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria was delegated the power of gambling regulator. In the nearest future, the agency's executive director Galya Dimitrova will appoint a deputy responsible for the regulation of the country’s gambling industry.

Earlier, State Gambling Commission fulfilled functions of the gambling regulator in Bulgaria. In July of 2020, Bulgarian National Assembly introduced amendments to the gambling legislation that abolished the commission and delegated its authority to the National Revenue Agency.

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