Tuesday, July 14, 2020 9:07 a.m. EDT by Thomson Reuters <\/p>\n
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday ending a decade-long ban on gambling in a move aimed at boosting budget revenues by almost $150 million a year.<\/p>\n
Ukraine's economy has been gutted by a six-year-long military conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the east and is under additional pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
The government expects casinos, bookmakers and slot machine operators to contribute at least four billion hryvnias (about $148 million) to the state budget annually through taxes and licence fees.<\/p>\n
Lawmaker Oleh Marusyak, a member of the president's Servant of the People party and author of the bill, said the legislation would help Ukraine supplement state revenues after a decade of the industry operating underground.<\/p>\n
The government said the money would be invested in health, education and sport projects.<\/p>\n
Under the new law, which still needs to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a specially created state regulator will issue licences to companies offering gambling services.<\/p>\n
The companies have to be registered in Ukraine but founders of the companies can be foreigners, with the exception of Russians.<\/p>\n
Casinos, slot machines and bookmakers will be authorised to operate in hotels with ratings ranging from three to five stars.<\/p>\n
The law also sets the minimum gambling age at 21.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Editing by Gabrielle Ttrault-Farber and Nick Macfie)<\/p>\n
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Ukraine moves to end ban on gambling to boost revenues - WHTC News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tuesday, July 14, 2020 9:07 a.m. EDT by Thomson Reuters KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday ending a decade-long ban on gambling in a move aimed at boosting budget revenues by almost $150 million a year Continue reading