The latest amendments for the gambling bill in Ukraine have been published, with over 1,800 changes made in total.
As part of the new proposed regulations, the previously-suggested ban on online advertising has been taken out.
There also has been a fluctuation in licence fees, with some going up and others decreasing.
As part of the changes, the proposed ban on third-party advertising – including affiliate marketing – has also been removed.
Affiliate marketing and online advertising in a regulated Ukrainian gambling market
Last week, the Servant of the People’s Party mentioned that the amended Ukraine gambling bill was ready for a second review.
The Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy suggested no fewer than 3,498 amendments to the bill. Of these, 1,818 were implemented in some way, shape or form.
If the bill is passed, licensed operators will be allowed to promote their services online. Affiliates will also be allowed to advertise, with other forms of third-party marketing also permitted.
On TV and radio, the previously-suggested ad window of 11pm-7am has been amended to end an hour earlier.
Operator licensing costs
Online operators looking to offer their services in Ukraine will have to pay a fee of UAH 30 million (roughly £887,717). This is lower than the figure of UAH 59 million (£1.1 million), which has been proposed at first. The fee will be paid upon renewal every five years, as opposed to the previous suggestion of it being done so annually.
If the bill is approved, the Rada will need to introduce a separate act related to gambling tax. Right now, there are currently four different tax-related bills that need to be considered by the Ukrainian legislature.
The first bill, titled Bill 2713, proposes a rate for all verticals at 25%. 2713-1, which is an alternative of B2713, suggests that online operators pay 12.5% of their gross gaming revenue (GGR). Land-based bookmakers would pay 7.5%, with lotteries paying 22%.
2173-2 was also put forward and, if passed, would mean that all on and offline operators are taxed at 25%.
As for the fourth proposed bill, 2713-3’s passing would eliminate all taxes based on GGR. instead, the government would make money from licensing fees – as well as regular business and income taxes.
