The gambling company paid more than a billion in taxes after the opening of a criminal investigation

One of the well-known gambling organizers reimbursed 1.066 billion hryvnias of unpaid taxes to the budget.

This was reported by the press service of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES).

The investigation established that the companyʼs employees in the period from 2021 to 2023 avoided paying taxes in particularly large amounts.

After the investigation, this gambling operator decided to compensate for the losses and transferred 1.066 billion hryvnias to the budget.

During the pretrial investigation, detectives announced suspicion to the head of the enterprise. Subsequently, the prosecutors submitted to the court a request for release from criminal responsibility due to compensation for damages. The trial of the petition is ongoing.

BES does not name the company, describing it only as "a well-known gambling operator." Forbes writes that it may be about Parimatch.

The situation with the gaming business in Ukraine

In July 2020, the Verkhovna Rada legalized the gambling business in Ukraine. The law legalizes the activities of casinos, bookmakers, in particular on the Internet, halls of slot machines and the organization of online poker. The parliament included roulette, playing cards, dice and slot machines as casino gambling. In September 2020, the Parliament created the Gambling and Lottery Regulatory Commission (KRAIL) — this is a state regulator that deals with licensing and regulation of gambling in Ukraine.

In 2023, Ukrainians spent almost 400 million hryvnias in online casinos every day, or more than 12 billion a month, as reported by Economic Truth with reference to the National Bank. This industry most often affects military personnel, who then suffer from gambling addiction.

After this publication, lively discussions of the problem with gambling began in society, in particular among the military. An electronic petition appeared on the restriction of online casino operations during the martial law in Ukraine, which in a few hours gathered the necessary votes for its consideration.

On April 20, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree restricting the operation of online casinos. In May, the Cabinet of Ministers completely banned the advertising of gambling games.