Ukraine’s gambling regulator, PlayCity, announced it was in the process of renewing the lottery market, which was previously operating in grey market conditions without tax...
Ukraine lottery tender fails to attract new operators
After Ukraine’s gambling regulator announced a new license tender in early December 2025, the process closed without attracting any new applicants, as only the country’s three incumbent operators applied for licenses.
The tender was announced by the State Agency for Gambling and Lottery Regulation, known as PlayCity, with a deadline of December 29, 2025. It has now been revealed that M.S.L. LLC, Ukrainian National Lottery, and PJSC Patriot were the only applicants in the process.
Hennadiy Novikov, head of PlayCity, previously shared that they don’t expect new players in the market because current legislative requirements prevent new entry under the existing conditions.
Novikov stated:
“Therefore, licenses will be issued not for 10 years, but for the duration of martial law plus one year, though not exceeding three years. This gives the Ministry of Digital Transformation and parliament time to revise lottery market regulation, propose new rules, and relicense the market under an updated approach with the possibility of attracting international companies.”
The conditions of the tender were extremely restrictive, requiring operators to have separate subdivisions in every Ukrainian city with over 500,000 residents, lottery distribution points in all localities with over 5,000 residents, and a minimum of 5,000 points of sale nationwide.
Additionally, operators must have had a UA domain, an electronic betting acceptance system, and a minimum of 3 years of experience in organizing state lotteries.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation announced that Ukraine's New Gambling Regulator, PlayCity, is officially set up to oversee and eliminate illegal gambling operations.
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