Gambling business survived, transformed and pays taxes during the war

The main characteristic of the success of reforms in any sector of the economy from the point of view of the state is the indicator of budget revenues: when it increases steadily from year to year (rapidly in the first years, then more slowly), it is possible to say with certainty that the reform has been successful.

Regulatory changes in Ukraine that were implemented after the legalisation of gambling in 2020 created conditions for the work of gambling market organisers, and the positive financial impact was not long in coming. Currently, the gambling business is breaking revenues records budget: in January 2025, UAH 735.63 million of tax payments were received from legal gambling market organisers, which is 74.2% more than in the same period in 2024.

It is also worth noting that such an increase in state budget revenues from gambling occurs in a very difficult period - during the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian gambling market is gradually adapting to the war conditions, with a noticeable shift from the offline to the online segment.

Due to the security challenges and restrictions caused by the war, online platforms have become a major channel that is actively changing, introducing new technologies, expanding and trying to meet global entertainment trends.

Technological innovations, such as the use of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies, help to improve the security, convenience and overall satisfaction of users of legal gambling services. It also opens up new opportunities for integration with social media and other platforms, which helps to attract new customers.

It should not be overlooked that this also creates certain difficulties for the state's regulatory policy, but to overcome this problem, cooperation is being established with the companies that own social networks and search services. In particular, an agreement has been reached that Facebook and Google will block advertising of illegal online gambling services. I would also like to remind you that since 2023, Ukraine has significantly strengthened its control over illegal business activities, in particular, the influence of russian and russian-affiliated companies, which has helped to clean up the market and integrate it into the global entertainment industry.

This year, domestic gambling companies are likely to continue investing in technologies such as AI to analyse player behaviour and mobile platforms to expand their audience. This will increase their competitiveness, but also require significant investments, which may slow down growth for small market players.

In addition, the economic instability caused by the war may limit overall consumer spending in Ukraine, including that currently spent on leisure and entertainment, which is a factor that should be taken into account when assessing the prospects for the gambling market.

In general, the adaptation of the Ukrainian gambling market to modern conditions is an important step for its development and stability in the future.

It is worth noting that the domestic gambling business not only pays taxes and licence fees to the state budget in good faith, but also continues to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine.