The government has restricted gambling for the military. How the mechanism will work

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a decision to restrict military personnelʼs access to gambling.

This was reported by the state agency PlayCity.

When a player is authorized, the electronic system will query the register of people with restricted access to gambling and the military register. If the name is found in any of the registers, access to the games will be blocked.

Gambling administrators will not see the reasons for the refusal, and therefore the military status will not be revealed. Technical development of the verification mechanism is currently underway.

The situation with the gambling business in Ukraine

In July 2020, the Verkhovna Rada legalized gambling in Ukraine. The law legalizes the activities of casinos, bookmakers, including online, slot machine halls, and the organization of online poker. The parliament included roulette, card games, dice, and slot machines as casino gambling.

In September 2020, the parliament created the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL) — a state regulator that is responsible for licensing and regulating the gambling sector in Ukraine.

In 2023, Ukrainians spent almost UAH 400 million daily in online casinos, or over 12 billion per month, as Economic Truth reported with reference to the National Bank. The military is most often hit by this industry, who then suffer from gambling addiction.

After this publication, lively discussions began in society about the problem of gambling, in particular among the military. An electronic petition appeared to restrict the operation of online casinos during martial law in Ukraine, which gathered the necessary votes for its consideration in a few hours.

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

On March 25, 2025, the government decided to liquidate the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL), and its powers were transferred to the state agency PlayCity.

In March 2026, the Ministry of Digital Affairs presented draft laws that propose banning offline bookmakers and changing the tax on winnings. They want to oblige organizers to monitor signs of addiction in players, and allow users to set limits themselves.

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