Zelenskyy bans access to online casinos for soldiers

Economichna Pravda — Saturday, 20 April 2024, 10:41

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a decree giving effect to a decision made by Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council to counteract the negative effects of online gambling.

Source: presidential decree

Details: The president has signed Decree No. 234/2024 On Counteracting the Negative Effects of Gambling on the Internet.

Notably, the decree prohibits access to gambling for military personnel during martial law.

The decree also stipulates:

  • a procedure should be developed to restrict all forms of gambling advertising, particularly the use of symbols of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations;
  • banning the registration of several accounts for one player at online casinos;
  • a maximum time period of continuous gambling per day per account should be set, with mandatory breaks, and a maximum time period of play per week;
  • online gambling organisers must set a limit on a player's spending on gambling for a certain period of time before the start of the game;
  • a State Online Monitoring System is to be introduced;
  • a national campaign is to be run to raise awareness about the dangers of gambling;
  • the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the authorised bodies, must ensure that gambling organisers are inspected within two months to verify their compliance with Ukraine’s sanctions legislation, and must take measures to impose any appropriate sanctions on the gambling organisers.

The decree also recommends that within two weeks, the National Bank of Ukraine should introduce a ban on accepting dual-use goods as collateral, and within two months, it should approve guidelines for banks to block the use of credit funds for gambling.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has been asked to hold talks with Apple and Google concerning the blocking of illegal online casinos on their platforms.

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