Poker Kiev Ukraine
The country of Ukraine is once againfinding itself in the news and not for some of the other things that have beenfloating around over the past couple of years. In a massive raid ordered by thePresident of the country, Ukrainian law enforcement has cracked down on “illegal”gambling in the country, resulting in hundreds of gaming establishments beingshut down and gaming paraphernalia being seized.
President Zelensky Orders Raids, 10 YearBan
In a stunning move, President VolodymyrZelensky ordered all gaming halls closed, effective immediately, inside theborders of the country. Zelensky felt that he had to act because discussions onnew laws regarding the industry in the Ukrainian Parliament had failed to bearany fruit. Zelensky’s order was announced, strangely enough, over Twitter.
For those of you who don’t speak Ukrainian(and I’m not even going to pretend that I do!), Zelensky Tweeted to his people,“So, youdon’t want to play by transparent rules? You don’t want to work in a civilizedway and pay to the budget? Well, let’s do it another away. As of today, weimmediately close down all the gaming halls.” It was estimated that thegovernment was looking to earn more tax revenues under the new laws beingconsidered, which could have totaled as much as $375,000 per year.
For one, poker was included in the list of recognized and legal sports on July 1, 2009, by the Justice Ministry of Ukraine; hence, gambling on poker games was still legal. Also, foreign online gambling operators were not prohibited to operate in the country; so, online gambling operators could simply move their servers to another country. Another casino called Slavutych was no less popular in Kiev. It started its operation in 2001 and quickly found its fans. In fact, Slavutych was a poker club, in which such types of poker as 7. The Ukrainian retail crackdown resulted in the cancellation of the Ukraine Poker Open, which was set to start in Kiev on January 26, after the host venue Full House was shut down. One of the most luxurious casinos in Kiev is located in the very center of the city, on Kreschatik Street, in the Dnipro Hotel. It offers its guests to test their luck and abilities in such games as poker, Black Jack, American Roulette. The gamblers will appreciate the bar with free elite drinks and drawings of prizes that take place regularly. Just about a year ago poker in the Ukraine was listed as a sport. Clubs are placed all over the country – in Lvov, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkassy and, certainly, Kiev. History of the Ukrainian industry of gambling is very much similar to the one in Russia. The law which forbids gambling came in force in 2009. It actually made a lot of casinos and slots machine clubs working undercover.
The new law would not only have given new revenues to thegovernment, they also would have put a serious limit on the number of establishmentsin the country. Only large hotels would be allowed to open casinos and those casinolicenses would be limited to only 20. Gaming machines in the country would belimited to only 40,000 and those licenses would be limited to 160. Bookmakers,which can usually be found on every corner, would be limited to only 800 outlets.
Wide Ranging Effect Across the Country
Once the order had been issued by Zelensky, Prime MinisterOleksiy Honcharuk put Ukrainian law enforcement into action. Police were sentout to the different gaming establishments in the country to enforce the lawand tax officials with the Ukrainian government started a review of the lotterylicenses in the country to enforce the Zelensky order.
Poker Kiev Ukraine Tourist
The actions immediately had a significant impact on thecountry’s gaming infrastructure. In one swing, 152 gambling outlets deemed “illegal”by the government were shut down instantly, with more than $2 million in gamingequipment seized. Some of this material included electronic roulette tables,107 poker tables, 27 slot machines and nearly 4000 pieces of computer equipmentand peripherals. The seized equipment was estimated to be worth over 51 millionhryvnia (slightly more than $2.2 million U. S. dollars).
According to Ukrainian journalist Katya Gorchinskaya, reporting for Forbes.com, the visual effect of the raids was perhaps more shocking than the actual raids themselves. Once bustling gaming outlets were locked up around Kyiv, the capital of the country, while all gaming advertising had been stripped from public view. Even a lottery outlet, an industry which apparently will not be affected by the crackdown, was closed while the government figures out who is a legal operator and who is operating illegally.
Poker Kiev Ukraine Wikipedia
This is the latest nationalistic crackdown on gaming in Europe, which used to treat gaming quite differently. Many nations, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Germany (just to name a few) have “ring fenced” (nationalized gaming operations to keep revenues in the country and to keep governmental control of the industry) their citizens and shut down any “illegal” operators. Australia went to extreme lengths, banning online gaming in the country with severe penalties for offenders.
It will be interesting to see what the eventual outcome will be in Ukraine. Known for honing the skills of many top poker pros, including Oleksii Kovalchuk and Yevgeniy Timoshenko, the effects of a long-term ban on gaming, such as the ten-year ban being imposed by Zelensky, could have a devastating impact.