The Ukraine Gambling and Lottery Regulation Commission (KRAIL) has blocked 5 more unlicensed gambling sites after blocking 11 last month. The affected sites are listed as 1xslot.com, Bet2casino.fun, Betmatch2win.com, Betwinner6.com, and Kasinos-vip.net.
The company stated that these sites were providing access to gambling in Ukraine without the necessary licenses, violating the law. KRAIL has blocked nearly 3,000 unlicensed gambling sites this year to combat the country's gambling issues. Like the previous orders, it has given operators three days to comply with the cease operation directive.
Meanwhile, the regulatory body advises players to ensure they gamble only with regulated operators in light of several reports of online scams where players are told their gambling deposits are fraudulent and are asked to pay a fee to retrieve their money.
The phenomenon of gambling self-exclusion is on the rise
KRAIL reports that the number of registrants in Ukraine’s national gambling self-exclusion registry increased by 7% last month. About 557 new players registered, bringing the total number of new registrants this year to 5,269. The total number of self-excluded players is now 8,431.
KRAIL continues to oversee Ukraine's gambling industry. However, the country's parliament voted in April to dissolve the regulatory body. Criticism of the regulatory body's collegiate structure, which requires the attendance of at least five of its six members for meetings to be valid, has led to frequent cancellations of meetings and long delays in license applications due to the chaos caused by military service following the Russian invasion.
The bill will undergo a second reading, after which it can be signed by President Zelensky. The liquidation of KRAIL will transfer gambling regulatory authority to the Ministry of Digital Transformation until a new regulatory body is established. Ukraine is also advancing a plan to ban gambling in the military and prohibit the use of military imagery in gambling advertisements.
