PARIMATCH SECURES UKRAINIAN GAMBLING LICENSE

Parimatch has become one of the first officially licensed gambling operators in the Ukraine, with the company authorised to provide betting services, casinos, and poker. 

The news follows a process of regulation that started on 13 August 2020, when new laws came into force under the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine becomes the fifth international jurisdiction in which Parimatch is licensed. 

Ukraine’s new regulated gambling market, which has been designed to be in line with European standards, is expected to generate around €255M euro in revenue in the first year. Revenues generated from licenses will be directed to support areas like healthcare, culture, and sports. 

Regarding the news, Managing Partner of Parimatch Holding, Maksym Liashko, said: “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. 

“At this stage, the cost  of licenses for various types of gambling activities is so high that, together with  taxation, it does not make investments in the nascent Ukrainian market attractive. So  Ukraine could lose the competition in terms of investment to other countries. 

“Under  favorable 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.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s unclear if Parimatch is actually the first operator to receive a Ukrainian license, as despite claims in a company press release, in February reports said the first license had been awarded to Spaceiks LLC for its Cosmolot brand. Still, whichever the order, Parimatch is going to be in the vanguard and we’re sure other operators will be interested to see how it fares.