Deputy head of the Batkivshchyna party Serhiy Sobolev during his speech in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine said that the local gambling business has filed a petition to exempt the newly legalized industry from taxation for the next 4 years. The operators hope that the local authorities will assist them in this matter.

The politician noted that the parliament decided to draw up a local budget plan immediately after the updated Budget Code and the budget law are adopted.

At the same time, he is very outraged by the fact that the current Budget Code contains a rule according to which all income from issuing licenses to gambling operators will remain exclusively in the state treasury.

“I would remind you that lobbyists Legalization of the gambling business in our country in this hall has repeatedly tried to get support from local councils and influential deputies. They claim that at least 10% of their income will go to local budgets. But this is not true, all funds will go to the center. Thus, local people will be able to earn exclusively from drug dens, which are already beginning to open near casino locations. No one deals with the issue of treating gambling addicted people, who will deal with it? We can guarantee that soon with such an approach of the authorities we will get an increase in crime and an even greater decline in local budgets,” Sobolev noted.

He added that the Association of the Gaming Business of Ukraine had already applied to Parliament with a request to adopt a bill that will exempt operators from taxes for 4 years. However, according to Sergei Sobolev, the deputies are unlikely to support this initiative.

Recall that Estoniawill launch a state program to combat problematic gambling.