Rada liquidates Gambling Commission

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted in the second reading a bill on the liquidation of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries.

This was announced by Yaroslav Zhelezniak, MP from the Holos faction, on his Telegram channel, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

A total of 239 MPs voted for bill No. 9256d, with the minimum required 226, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

The bill provides for the liquidation of the Gambling Commission and the distribution of its powers between the relevant ministry and a newly created body without collegial status, as well as a ban on advertising gambling, except for a limited list of permitted methods, and a ban on sponsorship, except for sports sponsorship.

The bill also provides for:

- strengthening requirements for gambling advertising, as well as increasing penalties for violations in this area (from 300 to 600 minimum wages), including a repeated violation as a new basis for revoking the license of a gambling organizer;

- clarifying and detailing the procedure and consequences of conducting factual inspections;

- introducing a system of measures to prevent and counteract the operation of prohibited gambling and/or gambling establishments, including by monitoring the Internet to identify websites and/or mobile applications that provide access to gambling on the territory of Ukraine on the Internet without an appropriate license.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy recommends that the parliament adopt in the second reading the bill on the liquidation of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries.