Ukraine Regulator Issues First License To Kosmolot Operator Spacex

Ukraine’s Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) has approved the first license under the country’s 2020 Gambling Act, an online casino licence for former local lottery brand Kosmolot operator Spacex.  

According to reports in Ukraine, Spacex LLC operates the Kosmolot brand, which was once owned by the country’s National Lottery but was discontinued in 2019. 

The operator must now pay the UAH30.7m online licence fee, after which it may be awarded a five-year licence. 

Spacex applied for the license back in December 2020, the Commission initially required further information on Spacex’s ownership structure in order to ensure it met the requirement that licensees are based in Ukraine, nevertheless they became the first operator to have been approved.  

“Yesterday at the KRAIL meeting the application of Spacex LLC to obtain a license to organise and conduct gambling casinos on the Internet was considered,” the regulator said. “After reviewing the documents, the application was approved.” 

Ukraine’s gambling act – which allowed online gambling, bookmaking, slot  halls and land-based casinos located in hotels – was signed into law in August 2020 after Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed it  in a 248-95 vote at the second reading the previous month. The act includes certain location restrictions on operators. 

As well as needing to form a Ukraine-based business to receive a license, operators  must not have a Russian resident or citizen act as a shareholder or Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO). 

Bookmakers’ license fees will be UAH70.8m while the fee for casinos in  hotels in Kyiv will be UAH141.6m, while elsewhere this fee is UAH70.8m. The license fee for online poker is UAH23.7m. 

Tax rates have still not  been finalised, however, despite several different tax bills all being  introduced.In June 2020, In June, Oleg Marusyak – who introduced the Gambling Act – filed a new  tax bill, 2713-D. This would set a 5% GGR tax on bookmaking, 10% for online gambling and for lotteries and 12.5% for slot machines. 

However, it is unclear if this proposal will be put into place as four earlier tax bills had been introduced, and the Rada may choose to pass  another new one.