- PokerMatch, a leading online poker room in the region, received its license in July.
- GGPoker and Vbet have also been approved for online poker, but none are yet live.
- “The company is already conducting a vibrant marketing preparation and working out its competitive strategy.”
- “We will popularize sports poker, attracting more and more Ukrainians to dive into the world of this beautiful game.”
The move towards the white market will definitely have a positive effect on how poker is perceived in society as well
It is fair to say that regulation of online gambling in the Ukraine, including online poker, has flown under the radars of many in the industry.
The Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) began issuing the first licenses to regulate online casinos in February of this year. To date, the regulator lists eleven operators licensed for online casino games. Three included approvals for online poker.
The most notable was perhaps GGPoker, which celebrated its license approval for online poker last month. But it was not the first to do so: VBet, offering online poker powered by BetConstruct, received the first such license in June; PokerMatch, a leading online poker room in the region, received its license in July.
Despite this triplet of approvals, none has gone live under license in the country yet. Operators are waiting for a key bill, known as 2713-d, to unify tax rules. Critical decisions remain with lawmakers to ensure a workable system.
“The main points discussed by the parliamentarians now are the correlation of payment for the license and GGR, as well as the tax on winnings,” explained Viktor Kirichenko, CEO of PokerMatch Ukraine, in an exclusive interview with PRO.
