Ukraine
Answer ... See please question 4.2.
Ukraine
Answer ... Generally, the activities of a foreign gambling operator that has no physical presence in Ukraine will fall outside the scope of Ukrainian law. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities may find that Ukrainian law applies to any gambling services available from the territory of Ukraine.
For example, it is quite common for law enforcement bodies to seek to block websites of foreign gambling operators which may be accessed by Ukrainian players. In addition, the Gambling and Lottery Commission may send a request to a foreign gambling operator (or a Ukrainian internet provider) demanding that Ukrainian players be blocked from accessing its platforms.
Neither law nor court practice provides a list of triggers which may result in the purported extension of Ukrainian law to foreign gambling operators. However, in our experience, such triggers may include the following:
- a Ukrainian language interface;
- the lack of a specific notice that the gambling operator does not offer services to users from Ukraine;
- a marketing campaign aimed at Ukrainian citizens; and
- potentially, even the mere possibility for Ukrainian players to access the relevant website.
In addition, the Gambling Law provides that only resident legal entities which have obtained a respective online gambling licence may be regarded as gambling operators.
Given this provision and the approach of the law enforcement bodies, even remote gambling services offered to Ukrainian players by foreign operators which have not obtained a licence may be treated as prohibited.
As regards Ukrainian operators, there is no explicit prohibition on providing gambling services overseas. Thus, subject to the rules of a specific foreign jurisdiction, licensed domestic entities may arguably operate abroad. However, certain domestic regulations may complicate this from a technical standpoint (e.g., a requirement to operate only on websites in the ‘.ua’ domain; a prohibition on locating gambling equipment and processing data outside Ukraine).