Is online gambling legal in Ukraine?

Unlicensed sites reach players by claiming a Curaçao or Anjouan licence, working in Russian or another foreign language, and taking deposits in crypto or by transfer to a personal card; PlayCity blocked over 4,100 of them in its first year and banks must refuse their payments. We found no penalty for playing on them, but they sit outside the limits, the self-exclusion register and PlayCity's complaint route, which apply to licensed sites. Licensed sites withhold 18% personal income tax and a 5% military levy from your winnings. If a licensed site does not fix a problem, report it to PlayCity on its free hotline (0800) 100-065 or through the form on its website.

1. 1Закон № 768-IX «Про державне регулювання діяльності щодо організації та проведення азартних ігор» (consolidated)
2. 2PlayCity: Нелегальні казино (signs of an illegal site)
3. 3Закон № 5204-VI «Про державні лотереї в Україні»

Gambling with crypto: Not on licensed sites. Licensed sites settle only in hryvnia through accounts at Ukrainian banks, and the law gives no route for crypto; PlayCity names crypto top-ups as a sign of an illegal casino.

Online casino, sports betting: 21. Lottery: 18. 21 for every form of gambling under Law 768-IX (casino, betting, poker, slots), online and in venues. State lotteries: accepting a bet from someone under 18 is an administrative offence.

Licensed sites withhold 18% personal income tax and a 5% military levy from your winnings when they pay out; the 5% levy rate was set by a law of October 2024. Residents and non-residents are taxed the same, there is no tax-free amount, and no gambling product is exempt. Tax law does not say whether your stake is deducted from casino and betting winnings, or whether a withdrawal from your balance is the moment of tax. The levy is due to fall back to 1.5% from 1 January of the year after the third calendar year after martial law ends. A March 2026 draft would tax only the difference between winnings and the money paid in; it is not law.

17 companies with a current online licence, plus Cosmolot, whose termination a court has stayed (12 Oct 2026) in Ukraine, as of 30 Oct 2026.

Always verify a casino holds a valid State Agency of Ukraine PlayCity licence before depositing. Check the official register before signing up.

The official register of licensed sitesState Agency of Ukraine PlayCity's website

Prominent operators in Ukraine

If a site isn't on the regulator's licensee register, ask the regulator before you play: an unlisted site is usually not licensed here (a register can lag behind a new licence). An unlicensed site is outside the regulator's supervision, so you cannot complain to the regulator about it.

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  Verify the Licence on the Official Register

  PlayCity publishes the registers of online casino, bookmaking and online poker organisers as open data (playcity.gov.ua, Публічна інформація, Відкриті дані), with each licensee's website and apps.

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  Look for the .UA Domain

  Licensed online operators must use a website with a .UA domain name; PlayCity names a non-.ua address as a sign of an illegal site.

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  Transact in Hryvnia through Ukrainian Banks

  Licensed sites take stakes in hryvnia and settle only through accounts at Ukrainian banks. Deposits by crypto or by transfer to a personal card are signs of an illegal site.

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  Check for Responsible Gambling Tools

  A licensed site must make you set daily, weekly and monthly spending limits and time limits before you play, show a clock on every page and regular notices of time and money spent, and accept self-exclusion into the national register.

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  Find Clear Company Information

  The site must show the operator's registered and actual address, its rules and each game's rules, the payout procedure and periods, support contacts and the overall return to player.

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  Free-Bonus Advertising is a Red Flag

  Since 1 April 2025 gambling ads may not offer free bonuses in place of a stake, and licensed sites may not give bonuses that depend on your losses.

Official changes that affect players, newest first, each with the document it comes from. A change marked not yet in our report is confirmed in the official text but not yet worked into our research report and the answers on this page.

Our daily watch reads the official publishers we follow for Ukraine. A change is listed once it has been checked against the official document, by a person or, where marked, by our automated check. Dates are the official dates, not the day we found the change. Where no researcher has written the summary yet, it is our automated reading of the official document, with every figure checked against its words; the official words are under each change.

Official guidance, court decisions and changes to the list of blocked gambling sites in Ukraine, newest first, each linked to the official text.

Our daily watch reads the official publishers we follow; each item is listed once a person has checked it against the official text, and every sentence is taken from that text. Dates are the official dates where the text gives one, else the day it was published.

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1. 1

   1. Contact the Licensed Operator

   Complain to the site first, in writing or electronically. The law requires every licensed organiser to consider complaints and answer within the period its own rules set.

2. 2

   2. Report to PlayCity

   If the operator does not resolve it, report to PlayCity on its free hotline (0800) 100-065, in writing, or through the form on its website. It answers within 15 days, or one month if it needs more study, and at most 45 days in all; it can inspect, fine, or block an unlicensed site, but it has no general power to order repayment to you.

   PlayCity contacts and hotline
3. 3

   3. Legal Action

   There is no gambling ombudsman or ADR body. The last route is the Ukrainian courts.

• Myth

  The military levy on my winnings is 1.5%.
  Reality

  It is 5%, on top of 18% personal income tax, both withheld by the licensed site. The 1.5% rate applies to servicemen's pay, and the levy is due to fall back to it only after martial law ends.

• Myth

  It's safe to play on any site that accepts Ukrainian players.
  Reality

  Only PlayCity-licensed sites on a .ua address are legal. Unlicensed sites claim Curaçao or Anjouan licences, work in Russian or another foreign language and take crypto or card-to-card deposits; PlayCity blocked over 4,100 of them in its first year. The spending limits, the self-exclusion register and the complaint route apply only to licensed sites.

• Myth

  Servicemen are already blocked from gambling.
  Reality

  Not yet. During martial law, servicemen are to be restricted through an automatic link between the restriction register and the Defence Ministry's register, but that link is not running yet: it starts only when PlayCity publishes the result of testing it, and PlayCity announced a tender to build it on 24 August 2026.