Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved a national strategy to prevent and address gambling addiction through 2035, alongside an implementation plan for 2027-29, in a government order issued on 26 August 2026. The measure brings health, education, defence, security and gambling-market bodies into a single policy framework, reflecting Kyiv’s view that gambling-related harm has become both a public-health and national-security concern during the country’s prolonged war.
Cabinet Order No. 855-r requires around 40 state agencies and public institutions to coordinate measures intended to reduce the social and economic effects of problem gambling. It is Ukraine’s first long-term cross-sector strategy focused specifically on gambling addiction, replacing what the government described as a more fragmented approach involving separate actions by individual agencies.
The strategy assigns roles to bodies including the gambling regulator PlayCity, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, health and social-service institutions, education authorities, law-enforcement agencies and defence-sector organisations. The breadth of the plan is significant for the regulated gambling industry because it connects market supervision and anti-illegal gambling activity with prevention, treatment and public-awareness measures.
Ukraine’s government has identified gambling addiction as a material policy challenge. A study referenced in the strategy found that 75% of respondents considered gambling a serious issue facing the country. The document also places particular emphasis on the circumstances created by the war, stating that sustained conflict can increase susceptibility to harmful coping behaviours, including gambling.
The strategy’s five broad objectives include promoting healthier lifestyles, improving timely access to treatment and social support, developing responsible gambling measures, reducing illegal gambling activity and establishing a data-led monitoring and evaluation system. These objectives will be supported by a three-year operational programme setting out responsible agencies and deadlines between 2027 and 2029.
Among the measures planned are a nationwide information campaign on gambling risks, the introduction of gambling-harm education into relevant curricula and routine screening by health services to support earlier identification of gambling disorders. The government also plans to expand access to psychological support, rehabilitation and social services for people affected by problem gambling.
The operational plan gives specific attention to military personnel and veterans, who are identified as groups requiring tailored prevention and rehabilitation programmes. This focus follows wider concern in Ukraine about the effects of wartime stress, displacement, economic disruption and trauma on vulnerable populations.
The government has already taken steps aimed at limiting gambling access for serving personnel. In recent months, the regulator introduced an automated mechanism designed to block military personnel from online gambling. The national strategy embeds such targeted interventions within a wider policy response that includes education, treatment, market enforcement and data collection.
For licensed operators, the plan could mean closer scrutiny of responsible gambling controls, customer protection systems and compliance with restrictions designed to protect vulnerable groups. While the strategy does not itself set out a new licensing regime, its implementation is likely to increase the policy importance of player-monitoring practices, self-exclusion tools, advertising restrictions and cooperation with regulators and public agencies.
The government’s emphasis on illegal gambling is also commercially relevant. Ukraine had 34 licensed gambling operators as of 1 January, covering land-based casinos, gaming halls, online casinos, poker and betting. However, official and independent data indicate that unlicensed activity remains a substantial part of the wider market.
Between June and December 2025, PlayCity identified 2,844 unlicensed gambling websites. That was equivalent to roughly 113 suspected illegal sites for every licensed operator active in the market at the start of 2026. The regulator also identified 76 unlicensed land-based gambling venues and referred them to the State Bureau for Economic Security.
The figures highlight the enforcement challenge facing Ukrainian authorities. The strategy calls for systematic blocking of illegal gambling websites and gambling advertising, measures that will require coordination between the regulator, digital authorities, law-enforcement bodies and internet-related service providers. The effectiveness of those actions may be important to the commercial position of licensed operators, which face compliance costs and tax obligations not shared by unregulated competitors.
Independent research cited in the strategy estimated that between 39% and 53% of gambling activity in Ukraine remains in the informal or illegal sector. Those estimates underline the limits of licensing alone as a means of directing consumers to regulated services. They also suggest that policy interventions focused only on legal operators may have restricted impact if enforcement does not reduce access to offshore or unlicensed platforms.
Consumer research commissioned by the Ministry of Digital Transformation nevertheless indicated a preference among many participants for licensed online gambling services. Of 2,676 respondents surveyed, 86% said they preferred licensed online casinos, while 78% said they did not intend to move to illegal operators.
The findings offer some support for the government’s effort to build a regulated market, but they also show reasons why some consumers continue to use unlicensed sites. One in five players said they knew friends who gambled through illegal platforms. The most frequently cited reasons for choosing such services were quick registration without identity verification, identified by 33% of respondents, anonymity, cited by 17%, and the absence of restrictions or limits, cited by 16%.
Those results create a policy tension for Ukraine’s regulators. Identity checks, affordability-related controls, deposit restrictions and player-protection measures can help reduce gambling harm and support anti-money laundering compliance. At the same time, consumers seeking fewer controls may be drawn to operators outside the licensed system. The strategy’s combined focus on player protection and illegal-market suppression is intended to address that risk, although enforcement capacity and cross-border website blocking will remain central practical issues.
The clinical data included in the strategy point to a separate concern: the number of people formally diagnosed and treated for pathological gambling appears low compared with the estimated scale of gambling participation and illegal activity. Ukraine recorded 308 patients diagnosed with pathological gambling under ICD-10 code F63.0, while fewer than 100 people a year received treatment through the national medical guarantees programme.
The difference between clinical figures and broader survey evidence may indicate underdiagnosis, barriers to treatment, limited awareness of available support or reluctance among affected individuals to seek medical help. The strategy’s proposals for screening, awareness campaigns and expanded psychological services are intended to improve identification and access to support, rather than relying solely on formal diagnoses.
The plan also places the Ministry of Digital Transformation in a central reporting role. Beginning in 2028, the ministry is expected to consolidate annual reports on implementation progress. That arrangement could give the government a clearer view of whether agencies are meeting the deadlines set in the 2027-29 operational plan and whether interventions are affecting illegal supply, treatment uptake and public awareness.
For PlayCity, the programme strengthens the regulator’s role beyond conventional licensing oversight. It will be expected to contribute to responsible gambling policy, illicit-site detection and the collection of market information, while working with agencies whose primary mandates are health, security, education and social welfare. This broader remit may increase demands on the regulator’s data systems and coordination capabilities.
The strategy also signals that Ukraine’s gambling framework will be assessed increasingly through social-risk and security considerations, not only tax receipts or market access. That may lead to additional compliance expectations for licence holders, particularly where advertising, access by vulnerable groups and customer verification are concerned. The document does not establish immediate new obligations for operators, but the operational measures could result in further administrative requirements as agencies translate the strategy into practice.
A critical issue will be whether public services can absorb the additional responsibilities. Screening for gambling problems, delivering psychological treatment and providing rehabilitation support require trained professionals and sustainable funding. Ukraine’s public institutions continue to operate under the financial and logistical pressures of war, and the strategy’s outcomes will depend on implementation rather than the adoption of targets alone.
The government will now move to execute the 2027-29 action plan, with agencies expected to begin work on awareness, screening, treatment, military-focused support and illegal-market enforcement. Annual consolidated reporting is due to start in 2028, while the longer strategy runs through 2035, giving regulators and policymakers a framework to review progress and determine whether further gambling-market controls are required.
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