Ludomania, or gambling addiction in Ukraine, began to be considered as an actual problem only after the legalization of gambling in 2020. Until that moment, it was of no interest to politicians and officials, nor to representatives of the third sector – public activists. And this is not surprising, because the existence of the gambling black market suited the part of the corrupt establishment who made money from it, and the vast majority was simply not interested in this issue, since Ukrainians are not a gambling nation and the level of participation of the population in gambling was always quite low throughout the years of independence . Let me remind you that only about 7% of Ukrainians express a desire to gamble for money. By the way, in EU countries this indicator is much higher and reaches the mark of 30%+. That is, there are only approximately 1.5 million potential players in Ukraine.
However, gambling addiction, despite the almost complete absence of mentions of it in the mass media in the period 2009-2020, did not disappear anywhere, worse, people with gambling addiction had to solve their problems themselves, without the help of state authorities.
It was during these years that the legislation of Ukraine prohibited the gambling business and participation in gambling, and those in power believed that this was enough to eliminate gambling addiction as a socially significant problem. However, these hopes turned out to be in vain: the ban on legal gambling did not help reduce the number of people suffering from gambling addiction.
Only the legalization of the gambling market in the second half of 2020 began to correct the situation: licensed organizers adhere to the principles of responsible gaming, and the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) is building a register of persons who have limited access to gambling establishments. This contributes both to the prevention of gaming addiction and to the fight against gambling addiction.
In total, as of July 1, 2024, the Register maintained by KRAIL contains information on 7,874 persons who are restricted from accessing gambling establishments and/or participating in gambling. The vast majority of them were registered on the basis of statements about self-limitation (that is, individuals applied independently). Yes, the question may immediately arise, but “how much is more important”? The answer is quite simple and revealing: it is more than 90%! So, for example, out of 4,585 persons whose data was entered into the Register during January-June 2024, information about 4,544 persons was based on their own statements, and only the data of 41 persons were entered into the Register on the basis of KRAIL decisions based on statements about restrictions that were submitted by native players.
Of course, someone may be surprised by such an increase over the last six months, but it should be noted that since almost all statements (99%) are voluntary and independent recognition that there are certain signs of game addiction, then in fact the real level of problem players is established. To some extent, this is also a recognition of the effectiveness of KRAIL’s work in this area and the growing level of trust in it by players.
As for the absolute indicators, they are simply meager compared to those in European countries. The above data from the Register show, however, that during the 4 years of the gambling reform (that’s how much has already passed since the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On State Regulation of Activities Regarding the Organization and Conduct of Gambling Games” No. 768-IX) potentially addicted to the game were found to be about 0.03 % of the adult population of the country!
Obviously, the fight against illegals, which has intensified on the part of law enforcement officers recently, and the very legalization of gambling contributed to the transition of a certain number of players to legal sites, where they can limit themselves, and this is facilitated by legal organizers of gambling games: they adhere to the principles of responsible gaming, do not encourage to increase the duration of the game session, providing bonuses in case of loss, and also limit the participation in the game of persons under 21 years of age. Before the reform, there were no such mechanisms, and now they are working to prevent the spread of gaming addiction, but… only on the white market.
In addition, it would be interesting to know the level of gambling among those who play the lottery. Due to the mass and availability of services, as evidenced by world experience, there are traditionally higher indicators of the number of game addicts, in particular among teenagers. Let me remind you that in Ukraine, lotteries are not recognized by legislation as gambling, therefore there is no age limit for those who can buy lottery tickets.
