OREANDA-NEWS. March 14, 2008. At present double licensing of gambling is in practice. One license, for arrangement of gambling, for 5 years, is issued by the Ministry of Finance, and it costs ?150 thousand. The other licence, for setting up and operating totalizators and gambling facilities, is issued by regional state administrations for 225 hryvnas for the same 5 years. To eliminate double standards in the regulation, the representatives of large gaming business suggest that the control over the industry should be concentrated in the hands of one authority only – the Ministry of Finance. Especially as it is responsible not only for gambling industry regulation but also for filling the entire revenue part of the Ukrainian state budget.

In addition, Gambling Operators` Association suggests passing a law which will provide for proper conditions for work of larger locations and casinos: where minors are not allowed; where a high level of visitors` and staff`s security is ensured; where the correlation between wagers and winnings is on the level of 80% and above.

As for the proposals of some deputies to move all kinds of gambling out of the capital, the Association believes they are not feasible under the current Ukrainian conditions. “The country has no money for setting up “gaming zones”. Should such bills be passed, it will kill the legal business”, thinks Boyko. According to him, in no European countries the gaming business is moved out of the cities. It is practiced only in the USA and in Russia. And in Russia, right after the decision to evict all gambling facilities from Moscow, a part of them have not ceased their operations, going underground.

By now, the Ukrainian gambling industry generates about 1% of the budget takings. Ideally, the Ukrainian gaming business (taking into account the average level of real wages) can generate 3-5% of the budget revenues.