An MP has warned that a proposed transfer of gambling policy power between two of Ukraine’s ministries will do more harm than good.
Nina Yuzhanina, MP from Ukraine’s European Solidarity party, took to Facebook to publicly criticise the development of draft bill No. 15111-d, which aims to govern tax on incomes generated from digital platforms.
Drafting of the bill has been entrusted to the Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy, which is spearheaded by MP Danylo Hetmantsev.
The bill itself is part of Ukraine’s obligations towards the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which requires the country to report on internal information about digitally generated income, and how it is being taxed.
In her Facebook post, Yuzhanina lambasted Hetmantsev and the Committee for not running a tight ship and allowing too much redactions, highlighting that a total of 3,529 amendments were proposed by deputies ahead of the bill’s second reading.
Ukraine losing £334m annually, says Hetmantsev
One of these proposals includes the transfer of gambling policy making from the Ministry of Digital Transformation to the Ministry of Finance.
Hetmantsev has been a vocal critic of the Digital Ministry’s handling of gambling affairs, primarily scrutinising the launch of the State Online Monitoring System – a centralised digital platform that feeds Ukraine’s PlayCity regulator with real-time data about the licensed market.
The system’s first phase was launched back in April, and is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year. According to Hetmantsev, this timeline will cost the Ukrainian treasury up to UAH 20bn (£334.4m) per year.
As the Chief of the Financial Committee, Hetmantsev believes that the Ministry of Finance is far better equipped to take over the regulatory oversight of the gambling sector, which is a core segment of the national economy.
For Ukrainian news outlet 24 Channel, Mykhailo Aksyonov, Deputy Head of the PlayCity Anti-Corruption Expert Group, opposed the idea of transferring powers, noting that such a move could not only prove costly, but also plunge the whole sector into chaos.
He said: “Regardless of who initiated this amendment and what motives are behind its appearance, the very idea of transferring powers now looks too risky.
“If we start moving policy-making from the Ministry of Digital Transformation to the Ministry of Finance, while simultaneously creating a new body to regulate this sphere, the launch of the State Online Monitoring System could be delayed by at least a year.
“And it is this system that is the key tool for the transparency of the operational activities of gambling organisers.”
Hetmantsev has been previously accused of conflict of interest due to ties to the gambling industry, having previously owned shares in scandal-ridded lottery operator MSL according to local press.
MSL was one of two lottery companies, the other being Patriot, which faced allegations of involvement in Russia-Ukraine cross-border money laundering in 2015.
This did not stop either firm from securing one of three official state lottery contracts earlier this year, though Patriot was stripped of its licence not long after the new licensing system came into effect.
