Ukraine issues 10 new B2B licenses while revoking seven others

Ukraine's lottery and gambling regulator PlayCity has formally announced that it has awarded 10 B2B gaming licenses in the nation, whilst simultaneously revoking a further seven.

Indeed, this latest action comes as part of a recent approach from the regulator which seeks to separate marketing and licensing operations between the B2B and B2C gambling sectors in Ukraine - a process which, as previously specified by PlayCity, would begin with the issuing of B2B licenses. 10 successful candidates for these licenses have now been confirmed, while a separate seven operators have had their licenses cancelled due to inactivity and a lack of response to governmental enquiries.

PlayCity CEO Hennadiy Novikov has further confirmed that Ukraine's new approach follows that of the neighbouring Romanian market - where B2C operators that interact with players directly are removed from the B2B gambling landscape.

Speaking directly on this latest update, Novikov said: "During this short period, we have already issued 10 new licenses for service provision (B2B). At the same time, we reviewed another seven companies, including to verify that they have no ties to Russia. These companies simply did not respond to our inquiries, so we revoked their licenses. The next stage is oversight and inspections of such companies.

"In this way, without deviating from our strategic goal of supporting the legal market, we are narrowing the range of products available to illegal operators. This approach is driven by the high risks inherent in the sector, including the possibility of tax optimisation and capital outflows. The regulator seeks to see not individual elements, but the entire ecosystem of the market, ensuring transparency across the supply chain, from software to service providers."

This latest development falls in the wake of Ukraine's national sports integrity platform signing a memorandum of understanding with the International Betting Integrity Association in October. Also during early Q4, it was announced that the nation would be launching a new national gambling exclusion register in December 2025.