Under the 2020 Gambling Act, the Ukraine Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) has approved the first gambling license. This license has been awarded to operator Spacex for its Kosmolot brand. This brand was previously owned by the country’s National Lottery.
The first operator approved
The application process for Spacex began in December 2020 when they were met with questions from the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries. The Ukraine regulator wanted to ensure that the operator met the requirements that the licensees must operate under.
Now that they have been the first operator to be awarded a license, they will need to pay the UAH30.7m (£808,909) online license fee. Once this is complete, their license will be granted for the next five years.
Getting the ball rolling
Ukraine’s gambling act was signed into law back in August 2020 and only now are operators starting to get their licenses approved. Of course, the approval of Spacex will get the ball rolling for others who are hoping to work in this region.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “Yesterday at the KRAIL meeting the application of Spacex LLC to obtain a license to organise and conduct gambling casinos on the Internet was considered.” They added: “After reviewing the documents, the application was approved.”
Some of the conditions of the online gambling license include operators needing to form a Ukraine-based business. Additionally, there cannot be any Russian residents or citizens as shareholders or UBOs in the business.
Spacex might be the first operators but they won’t be the last. The Ukrainian market is certainly one that presents a lot of opportunities for operators and affiliates looking to expand.
