The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed bill No. 2285-d on state regulation of activities of gambling establishments.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported that 260 parliamentarians voted in favor of the document at a plenary sitting on Thursday morning.
As reported, on December 19, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada decided to rework for its repeat first reading bill No. 2285-d on state regulations on organizing and conducting of gambling activity, which was registered in the parliament on December 18, 2019.
The lawmakers did not support the bill in the first reading, it scored a mere 213 votes with the required number being 226, while 243 parliamentarians supported the decision to send the bill for the repeat first reading.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine registered in the parliament bill No. 2285 and the parliamentarians also submitted seven alternative bills, including the updated version No. 2285-d by member of the Servant of the People faction Oleksandr Dubinsky.
It is proposed in the bill to limit the number of licenses issued for gambling houses and to introduce mandatory verification of gamblers while receiving bets and registration of wins in the online monitoring system.
The government’s bill proposes to determine gambling areas at five-star hotels for casinos and at three-star hotels for slot machines.
The law on the national budget for 2020 envisages a UAH 4.4 billion revenue from the licensing of gambling businesses. The money will be transferred to the special fund and excess revenues will be spent on subsidies for local budgets for education and public health programs.
As reported, Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said that in pursuance of the government’s decision, law enforcement authorities should end the activities of gambling establishments by 16:00 on December 20, 2019.
The minister said that the issue will be regulated by a special law, which was being considered and would be adopted by parliament.
