Lotteries and raffles...

Shpilevoy,
Good luck!
Whatever the ratio,

The National Lottery of Ukraine has been operating illegally for over 5 years. There are now more computer gaming clubs than pharmacies and bread kiosks. It is not the criminal world that is protecting this entire business.


Gambling business and participation in gambling were banned in Ukraine in 2009.

The ban on gambling business for one fact of a fire in such an establishment was wrong. If we follow this logic, then in case of a fire at any enterprise, the entire industry should be closed. The consequence of this decision is the complete shadowing of the entire sphere, since everyone plays as before, but all this happens completely in the shadows. Firstly, the state does not receive taxes. Secondly, all gambling workers work illegally. Thirdly, there is no legal framework to protect players.

The law interprets gambling business as "activities related to the organization, conduct and provision of access to gambling in casinos, on slot machines, computer simulators, in bookmakers' offices, in interactive establishments, in an electronic (virtual) casino regardless of the location of the server." The organization and conduct of lotteries are not legislatively classified as gambling.

Therefore, instead of closing their salons, casino and slot machine owners “modernized” them in accordance with the law: signs for state lotteries appeared on the windows of the same premises, and factory-made slot machines were replaced with ordinary old computers and decommissioned monitors.



"Golden Cup" - a brand of the National Lottery of Ukraine developed software for the virtual sale of instant lotteries and wrapped it in the usual visualization of the game on Novomatic emulators and their various versions: Book of Ra, Columbus, Sharky and other fakes of original games. There is no information about how exactly the "Golden Cup" servers work, so there are no guarantees that blocks of these instant lotteries are formed in advance somewhere and opened in turn, regardless of the players' bets.

If we consider similar technologies of existing platforms for computer gaming halls: "Champion club", "Superomatic", "Infinity", "Golden Horseshoe", "Simple Games", "Cosmolot" and other scripted online casinos, then the mere presence of an alternative visualization of erasing tickets does not make the "Golden Cup" something fundamentally different.

It would not be superfluous to remind that the facade covered with banners "Golden Cup, Play here!" and corresponding screensavers on monitors are often a cheap cover for inspections by law enforcement agencies - in fact, the game is played on illegal platforms of completely different scripted online casinos that have no relation to the National Lottery or to licensed global providers. The owner of the hall independently sets limits on winnings and the percentage of return of all machines.

The closure of illegal gambling establishments and the confiscation of equipment installed there are within the competence of the Department of Economic Protection. Periodically, information appears in the media about several identified salons, however, the illegal gambling market certainly does not tremble from this. Closing several salons does not solve the problem, because the number of such "points" throughout Ukraine was estimated at least 20,000.

One of the explanations why the number of gaming parlors is growing by leaps and bounds is that any entrepreneur can become the owner of such a business. Gaming machine networks offer to open your own outlet under their franchise. A partnership offer is even posted on the National Lottery website. The company guarantees its potential partners the installation and maintenance of equipment, personnel training, and consumables. There are many ads on OLX about opening turnkey parlors. All you need is a room, a few thousand dollars - and you are the owner of a business for which laws are not written.

It is not the criminal world that protects the illegal gambling market. The prosecutor's office, law enforcement agencies and, undoubtedly, parliamentarians are involved in collecting tribute. The media named MPs Oleksandr Tretyakov (BPP), Vitaliy Khomutynnik (Vozrozhdenie), and Serhiy Pashinsky (People's Front) as beneficial owners of the "Ukrainian National Lottery". The name of the former head of the presidential administration Borys Lozhkin was also mentioned. The UNL denies any connection with these politicians, and according to documents, the owner of the company is an Englishman, Michael John Foggo. The gambling business is linked to the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, who in December 2014 declared war on gambling parlors in front of cameras, saying that he would clean up Kyiv and then all of Ukraine in 10 days, but for some reason, instead of curtailing, the "lottery" industry began to grow even more.

In 2001, the Ministry of Finance issued a license for lottery activities to three enterprises: UNL, MSL, and Patriot. In 2015, the last two operators fell under sanctions from the National Security and Defense Council due to their Russian owners. The Ukrainian National Lottery has effectively become a monopoly on the market. UNL currently operates under the brands Kosmolot, Favorit, Pari Match, National Lottery Golden Cup, Lotto Platinum, Baza Bet, and Fortuna Live. Some MSL brands have not left the Ukrainian market either: Lotto-Zabava, Sportliga, Megalot, Zolotoy Triumph, and Zolotaya Podkova.

The license issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2001 expired back in 2014. Therefore, the lottery industry is now completely illegal. The authorities decided to ignore such a "trifle" as the expiration of the license and allowed operators to operate until new legislation was adopted. Whoever is behind the gambling business, it is obvious that without lobbying in government circles, this illegal sector of the economy would not have been able to achieve such a scale of growth and corruption.

There was a weak attempt to pass a new specialized law. The Cabinet of Ministers' bill proposed allowing casinos to open in cities with a population of over a million: 4-5 star hotels, airports, racetracks and on board Ukrainian-registered ships. It was necessary to eliminate intrusive advertising of unrealistic winnings and organize centers to help addicted gamblers. But the Verkhovna Rada failed this bill - too many pigs are grazing at this rich trough.