Ukraine’s Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy has at long last approved a gambling tax bill for the country, setting a flat 10% rate for all forms of gambling.
The committee considered bill 2713-d, put forward by committee chair Oleg Marusyak, to complement the Gambling Act that legalised various forms of gambling in Ukraine and was signed into law in August 2020.
This bill initially proposed a 5% GGR tax on bookmaking, 10% for online gambling and for lotteries and 12.5% for slot machines. However, the committee opted for a single rate on all verticals instead.
Operators will also be required to pay an 18% general corporate tax rate
In addition, gambling winnings of more than eight months’ minimum wage (currently UAH48,000) will be taxed as income.
The country’s Gambling Act had also previously required that online betting and gaming licence fees start out three times higher than normal, and would only be lowered once an online player monitoring system is put in place. However, the new tax bill abolishes that requirement.
The Rada will still have to approve the new tax bill, after which it may be signed into law.
Even though the bill has not come into effect, Ukraine’s Gambling Commission (KRAIL) has already approved the country’s first licences, to online operators Spaceiks , which operates the Cosmolot brand, and Parimatch. These operators must pay licence fees before the licences are officially granted, though.
Prior to 2713-D, the country had introduced four other tax bills setting different rates of gambling taxes.
