Ukraine’s gambling culture is young, cautious, and shaped by war. After an 11-year prohibition, gambling was re-legalised in 2020 and licensed from 2021, quickly producing homegrown brands like Cosmolot and a large online market. Yet the public remains wary: most Ukrainians view gambling as a serious national problem, and a wartime gambling problem among soldiers has pushed the state toward tighter controls, self-exclusion tools and restrictions on military personnel.

From ban to legalisation

Ukraine outlawed gambling in 2009 after a fire in a Dnipropetrovsk slot-machine hall killed nine people; the ban took force that June. Lotteries stayed legal throughout. On the campaign trail in 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to overhaul the sector, and in August 2020 he signed the Gambling Act re-legalising casinos, betting, slots and online play. Licensing began in early 2021, with the operator behind the Cosmolot brand receiving one of the first licences.

Online slots lead the market, followed by sports betting - football is the clear favourite - plus live casino and roulette, card games and online poker. State and private lotteries remained legal even during the prohibition and continue to draw wide participation.

Homegrown operators

Ukraine’s regulated market features both local and international brands. Cosmolot was among the first to be licensed, followed by names such as Parimatch, PIN-UP, GGBet and Favbet. The market has not been static: in June 2026 PlayCity revoked the gambling licences of the Favbet and Billionaire brands over alleged ties to Russia, underscoring how national-security concerns now shape who is allowed to operate.

Attitudes and the wartime dimension

Public opinion is notably cautious. A PlayCity-commissioned national survey found roughly 75% of Ukrainians consider gambling a serious problem for the country, even though only about 5% reported gambling in the past year - a striking gap between concern and participation. Much of that alarm is tied to reports of problem gambling among soldiers during the war, which prompted legal restrictions barring active military personnel from gambling under martial law and an automated system that blocks them at login.

Where it’s heading

Since taking over from the former regulator KRAIL in 2025, PlayCity has leaned into enforcement - blocking thousands of illegal sites, relaunching a national self-exclusion register in January 2026, and tightening advertising and integrity rules. The direction of travel is a smaller, more tightly supervised legal market alongside continued pressure on offshore operators.

18+ only (21+ in Ukraine). Gamble responsibly - set limits, never chase losses, and seek help if it stops being fun.

Sources