The Ukraine to follow Russia with ban on gambling
Posted by Gavin Smith on 02 Jul 2009 at 09:07
The Ukraine government has followed in the footsteps of neighbour Russia with a temporary ban on gambling establishments throughout the country.
The Financial Times reported last week that the controversial move had come into effect last Thursday, with the aim to be to protect families who may have been suffering under the current economic crisis.
Over the coming months, further legislation is expected to come into effect that will establish legal areas for gambling in specific parts of the country, again, mirroring the events across the border in Russia.
Areas such as resorts on the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea are expect to be among those which fall under this category, but while this may sate the gambling appetites of some of the country’s keen gamblers, it will do little to help the estimated 200,000-plus employees of casinos and gaming houses who will lose their jobs.
Quoted in the Financial Times, Ukranian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko backed the ban.
He said that gambling establishments were “demoralizing Ukraine’s youth and sucking the last savings from families” whose pockets were already squeezed by recession.
As in Russia, lax legislation has allowed gambling to prosper in the Ukraine, with establishments varying from the seedy, back-street slot machine parlours frequented by cash-strapped addicts and the glittery casinos which attracted tourists and businessmen.
But these disparate entities have been bundled together under the new legislation, as the government seeks to end the expansion of Russian gaming institutions into the country, a move caused by Russia’s own legal overhaul.
Casinos had been attempting to self-regulate better and accepted calls for tighter laws on the estimated $1billion-a-year business, but many feel as though they have not been given the chance.
Quoted in the Financial Times, Grigory Trypulsky, vice-president of the Ukrainian Association of Gambling Operators, said: “This was a crime against the investment climate and businesses.
“About 200,000 people lost jobs overnight in the middle of a recession.
“All gaming venues that were working legally have shut down. Illegal ones that didn’t pay taxes will continue to operate.”
Outside of the gambling community, the move is believed to have been welcomed, with the paper reporting that most Ukrainians backed the ban, as they did the recent tax increases on other vices such as alcohol and tobacco.
Unlike in Russia though, the Ukrainian Premier and President are not in agreement, with Ms Tymoshenko’s immediate ban being opposed by President Victor Yushchenko.
Yushenko vetoed the ban put down by parliament earlier this year, but that was overridden by lawmakers of Ms Tymoshenko and one-time presidential rival Victor Yanukovich.
