TITLE: Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers Restricts Military Personnel Access to Gambling During Martial Law
BODY:
On June 17, 2024, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution implementing a mechanism to restrict military personnel's access to gambling during the period of martial law. The Ministry of Defence collaborated with the Cabinet to develop the decision, which aims to protect military service members from gambling addiction risks and associated security threats.
The restriction operates through automatic verification using state electronic registers. During registration or login to legal casinos, user data will be automatically checked against both the Register of Persons with Restricted Access to Gambling and a new Register of Military Personnel being implemented by the Ministry of Defence. If the system confirms the user is an active military service member, access to gambling will be blocked. Gambling operators will receive only notification that access restrictions apply, without disclosure of the specific grounds—including whether the restriction relates to military service or other factors—protecting personal data privacy.
The data exchange between state resources occurs through the electronic interaction system "Trembita." PlayCity, Ukraine's gambling regulator, and the Ministry of Defence are currently undertaking technical preparations and register population to enable automatic verification.
The resolution represents one component of Ukraine's broader player protection framework. PlayCity has also identified over 4,100 illegal gambling resources during its first year of operation, with blocking decisions now mandatory for internet service providers within 24 hours of detection. The regulator established an inter-agency working group including representatives from the National Security and Defence Council apparatus, National Bank of Ukraine, Ministry of Digital Transformation, National Commission for Communications Regulation, and other bodies to accelerate blocking procedures to within minutes. Additionally, PlayCity has blocked more than 700 social media pages for illegal gambling advertising and imposed 16 fines totalling approximately 80 million Ukrainian hryvnia for advertising violations.