The Ukrainian regulator PlayCity has released its monthly report for April 2026, detailing work focused on monitoring licensed operators, combating illegal advertising, blocking unlicensed sites and implementing the online monitoring tool.
In April, fines totaling UAH 946m were imposed on gambling operators for violations of the law. The detected breaches resulted from systematic inspections of licensees and follow-up actions in response to identified cases.
After a prolonged suspension of business inspections during martial law, which has been in effect since 2022, the Government, at the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, updated state supervision rules.
This enabled PlayCity to resume planned inspections of the gambling industry in 2026. The plan includes 34 inspections of gambling operators and was approved by the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine.
In April, the regulator also requested the blocking of 42 social media pages containing illegal gambling advertising. In addition, FC Shakhtar was fined nearly UAH 5.2m for breaches of gambling advertising rules.
To encourage wider reporting of illegal advertising, PlayCity launched an online complaints tool. Furthermore, around 300 illegal gambling websites were identified and flagged for blocking.
Last month, PlayCity also presented the State Online Monitoring System (DSOM) to the Government and law enforcement bodies at the Parliamentary Committee on Digital Transformation.
The first 11 gambling operators have already connected to DSOM, while others are still in the process of integration.
DSOM represents a shift towards data-driven regulation. The second stage is planned for its development and launch in autumn 2026.
Ukraine is currently weighing the transfer of gambling oversight to the Ministry of Finance.
Ukraine’s state-owned Sense Bank is facing scrutiny following claims that it may have been used to facilitate illegal gambling transactions
