SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
CIS online gambling group Parimatch, has become the first operator to fully validate its Ukraine online gambling services, having secured licencing approval for online casino, sports betting and poker.
Yesterday, Parimatch communicated that it had completed its full Ukraine licensing provisions, becoming the first operator to obtain a sports betting licence validated by the newly established Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL).
The sports betting approval follows the company securing its online gambling licence in February, as the CRGL approved Parimatch and the Spaceiks-owned ‘Cosmolot’ brand as first licensees of the Ukraine Gambling Law’s new regime.
Though eager to launch within its home-market of Ukraine, following eleven years of market prohibition, Parimatch is still awaiting final Rada decisions on online gambling taxation, licensing costs and technical accreditation of systems.
As yet, Parimatch had not communicated an official launch date for its online gambling services, awaiting final regulatory judgements.
“Work still remains to be done on reforming tax legislation before the Ukrainian market becomes attractive to foreign investors. Taxation should be transparent and logical so that it doesn’t create additional obstacles for foreign investors,” remarked Maksym Liashko, Managing Partner of Parimatch Holding.
Liashko urged the government to rethink its high costs licencing policies, as a means to open Ukraine to mass foreign investment, creating an online gambling boom, mirroring other jurisdictions.
“Under favourable legal conditions, specialist market capacity and qualifications will allow Ukraine to become a gaming hub for the Eastern Europe region. Like Malta and Manila, Ukraine now has the potential to become a center of expertise for gambling entertainment.” Liashko added.
