Legal Online Poker Now Available In Ukraine For Those 21 Or Older
- Ukraine gaming commission has regulated online poker, as well as raised the required gambling age from 18 to 21.
- If you wish to partake in real money poker tournaments you will still need to physically be at the casino hotel.
- Video lottery terminals have also been implemented with the newly passed laws.
KYIV, Ukraine - The Ukraine legislation has made some changes to its gambling laws that includes some serious advancements in the market.
For starters, the main draw of the newly passed laws is the implementation of online poker. Players can sign up at the physical land-based casino and then going forward be able to play poker from anywhere in the country.
Unfortunately, for any real money games, you are still required to be in the casino. The legal gambling age has also been increased to 21 from 18. This affects both the online and physical casino operators.
Ukraine Gambling Laws
With the new laws in place, regulated online poker in Ukraine can finally be accessed by its residents of 21 years or older.
Interestingly, the law specifically states that real money poker games (non-tournament) can only be accessed at the land-based casino hotel that is associated with the online gambling operator.
The law separates poker tournaments as a sports game, which requires different laws by a different committee on sports events to be created.
To sign up for the online poker, players must first register at a physical casino. Here players are required to provide documentation of their age, proving they are indeed 21 years old or older, and then they will be able to partake in online poker.
“After showing the passport, the gambler enters not the hotel but the gambling establishment at the hotel.” said Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the relevant committee. “At the entrance to this gambling establishment their passport is checked. If the supervisory authority discovers that persons younger than 21 years old plays in the establishment, the fines are applied, or the license is canceled altogether. Everything is very simple.”
The system has online-monitoring constantly and there have been precautions made to ensure the safety of all gamblers.
This includes a required proof of income that is compared to the amount gambled to help combat legal gambling addiction.
Violators of the rules run the risk of facing fines. If you attempt to gamble while underage, you can be served a fine of 500 minimum living wages. If you attempt to gamble with improper documentation, the fine is doubled to 1,000.
With the new gambling laws in place, Ukraine is expecting a boost of $150-$200 million in revenue annually.
Ukraine gamblers looking to wager real money poker games online without having to travel to a land-based casino always have the option of legal gambling sites which provide the same level of gaming that can be found at a land-based operation.