The newly formed regulator aims to quickly distinguish itself from its predecessor, which faced corruption and dubious practices.
PlayCity, Ukraine’s gambling regulator, has issued 10 B2B licenses to software providers for gambling companies. At the same time, it revoked the licenses of seven companies. The watchdog aims to strengthen local safeguards and ensure the licensed market continues to thrive.
In a previous interview with local media outlet Interfax-Ukraine, Hennadiy Novikov, head of PlayCity, said the regulator has been actively reviewing license applications. It is also reviewing the list of existing companies to ensure compliance with the country’s gambling framework.
Novikov added that PlayCity will strengthen oversight to ensure firm control over the market. He said this also addresses concerns that operators connected to Russia might exploit vulnerable players.
Novikov outlined additional plans to strengthen the country’s defenses against bad actors. He aims to ensure that Ukraine’s updated gambling regulations achieve the intended results.
Novikov told the media outlet that the regulator adopted this approach because of the high risks in the sector, including potential tax optimization and capital outflows. The regulator aims to oversee the entire market ecosystem, ensuring transparency across the supply chain, from software to service providers.
One of the most aggressive moves of PlayCity against a domestic market was a license revocation against PIN-UP. It is a respected gambling firm operating systems and processes for the industry at scale.
The regulator alleged ties to Russia at the time, which is a cardinal sin in Ukraine. While also fighting a war in the Donbas region since 2014, the country has been fending off a full-scale invasion from its belligerent neighbor since February 2022.
