The Ukrainian Finance Ministry has proposed to expand a list of special gambling zones where casinos can open in Ukraine, while earlier the placement of casinos was planned only in four- and five-star hotels and Crimean resorts.
According to a draft law on gambling drawn up by the Finance Ministry and posted on its Web site, it is permitted to place casinos with gambling halls of at least 500 square meters in entertainment complexes, non-residential buildings, on vessels registered in Ukraine and four- and five-star hotels with at least 100 rooms.
It is also permitted to place casinos in any places in Crimea, apart from Sevastopol, and in the Bukovel, Truskavets, Morshyn, Mykcheve and Slavske Carpathian resorts.
The document bans the bookmaking business, gambling in virtual casinos and establishing gambling machine businesses.
The draft law permits only the following types of gambling: national money lotteries, games based on cards and dice, and roulette.
"It is banned to organize other types of gambling in Ukraine, in particular, interactive games, other television and radio games, which foresee payment for participation in them, including phone fees," reads the draft.
The cost of the license to organize gambling business is UAH 1,000, while the license for gambling business in casinos and national lotteries costs UAH 40 million.
A gambling license has no fixed term and it is issued to the national organizer of gambling business, which could be a company that is 100% owned by the state. The national organizer can organize gambling itself or instruct an operator to do this.
A license for the organization of national lotteries is issued to gambling operators for seven years. It is paid in equal parts every quarter during the term of the license, and the first and the last parts are paid after receiving the license.
The statutory fund of casino operators cannot be less than the total cost of the license and gambling equipment. Own capital of operators cannot be less than UAH 10 million for each date of reporting period.
The document also says that the operators should have the ownership right to gambling equipment and the term of its use cannot exceed seven years from the date of its production.
Each casino should have at least ten gambling tables and the number of its employees should be at least 50.
