By the end of 2022, the proportion of legal business to the black market will be 70 to 30%. Such forecasts are given by Boris Baum at the traditional round table of Ukrainian gambling experts. The fight against illegal immigrants is the main topic of the meeting.
“An interactive map will be created on the KRAIL website, where it will be like a quest: find an illegal hall and declare it. If three times there is no reaction of law enforcement agencies to this place, then they will bear criminal responsibility. The person who works in this area,” - says Boris Baum.
Boris Baum calls on operators and market players to unite in the fight against illegal immigrants.
“We were all frightened that as soon as a legal business appeared in Ukraine, we would again have grandmothers who would lose their apartments. Over the past year, I have not heard a single piece of news that someone has lost something, especially grandmothers. But there may be such cases. But not because of legal business, but because of illegal. And we need to fight against him,” - says Mykola Melnyk, head of the Ukrainian Gambling & Betting Association.
“Some people say they don't want to register, they don't want to show their passport. This is a problem for them. I understand that we cannot fight this problem in any way. I do not think that it needs to be leveled. It's correct to register players. But we will still promote the white market through joint efforts. And I hope that those players who did not want to register their data will change their minds,” - says Oleg Kononchuk, CEO of Slots City.
The legal market protects the rights of players, experts say. KRAIL has already launched an experimental register of gambling addicts. During the entire period of its work, the Commission received only three applications to protect people from the game. And the working groups have already prescribed the requirements for combating gambling addiction.
“There are certain practical requirements that we recommend applying. The order of non-admission is currently being agreed in the working group on gambling addiction, and today we will send the procedure for compensation to the working group on gambling addiction,” - says Mikhail Koval, head of the All-Ukrainian Union for the Development of Bookmaking.
Operators themselves are interested in not letting gamblers into their casinos, says John Harrack, a member of the board of directors of Storm International. Most foreigners are welcome in legal casinos. But for them to come to Kyiv, the tax code needs to be changed.
“If you tell a guest that you can only bring $1,700 and you have to pay 19.5% in taxes when you win, they will go to Georgia. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is,” - says John Harrack, member of the board of directors of Storm International.
The amendments to the draft law on changes in taxation are already ready. Boris Baum says: in the first reading for 2713-D, the Parliament will vote in the last session of the summer. The second reading will take place in the fall. That is why direct taxes from gambling should not be expected this year.
“There will be no tax revenues this year because tax changes have not been adopted. Indirect budget receipts, which are calculated in our repairs, in the construction of hotels, in hotel renovations, inside services, in additional salaries, in personal income tax, in advertising, and so on - these amounts amount to tens of billions of hryvnias. This is something that no one sees,” - says Boris Baum.
The report especially for Gamingpost.net.
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