Newly launched GC-UA meets the press
GC-UA held their first press conference where they answered questions from the press
Following their official launch last month, Gaming Council Ukraine (GC-UA) has held a press conference where media representatives, lawyers and industry players were invited to listen in and ask questions.
According to the Chairman of the Board, Denis Dzyubenko, the purpose of creating the association is to give a voice to the people from the industry.
Last year Ukraine signed a critical piece of legislation. The purpose of the bill was to establish a framework for the gambling industry in the region. The panel focused on the various taxation regimes in the EU, Ukraine and Asia, and the consequences of the draft bill 2713-D where a fixed tax rate of 10% is floated.
Speaking on the panel were:
- Denis Dzyubenko, Chairman of GC-UA and member of the Advisory & Expert Council of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling & Lotteries of Ukraine
- Artem Kuzmenko, Deputy Chairman of GC-UA and Chairman of the Gambling Committee of the Bar Association of Ukraine
- Lasha Shikhashvili, Country Manager for Energycasino
- Nik Rudenko, CEO of 8Lab
- Sergey Ivanenko, from Wave 4444
- Natalia Estafyeva, from the first legal land-based operator in Ukraine
Where do they stand?
Lasha said that he has many years of experience operating in Malta under the MGA license and noted several changes that could be ideal to implement in Ukraine to make the operational side more advantageous for operators.
Sergey pointed out how taxation impacts the land-based portion of the gambling sector, and that it will be possible to expect some foreign companies to step into the Ukrainian market if the Government listens and acts on the local operators’ struggles.
Nick looked to the tax systems in Estonia and Latvia as a point of reference, as there are multiple companies from across the region who are considering Ukraine as a new destination for expanding operational business
Natalia explained how the situation currently stands with land-based companies. She agreed on the 10% fixed tax rate but insisted that the 18% tax on income at the end of each operational year must be changed as it leads to a huge 28% tax which makes it impossible to operate in Ukraine.
