In the past week, Ukraine's gambling commission blocked 11 more unlicensed casino sites, while the national self-exclusion register saw a 139% increase in new entries during the first half of 2024.
At a meeting of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) on July 10, it was disclosed that self-excluded player registrations had risen by 4,585 since the end of 2023, reaching a total of 7,874 as of July 1.
Of the new registrants, 87% were male, and an additional 41 individuals were added to the register through applications submitted by their relatives.
In its crackdown on unregulated gambling, Ukraine’s gambling commission has mandated that 11 unlicensed online casino websites be shut down by their hosting providers within three days of the order. The directive requires electronic communication service providers to block these websites using their Domain Name System (DNS) servers.
The flagged sites include 888starz.bet, Cosmobet.one, Astekbet.com, Vulkan-777.biz, F1casino.club, Bettwo.fun, Stake.ceo, Roobet.com, Casino-joker-20.com, Clubsvulkanbets.store, and Chipstars.bet. These platforms were identified as operating without a license, constituting a severe breach of gambling regulations.
The commission has ordered that access to these sites be terminated within three working days. Specific website hosting providers, Cloudflare Inc and Melbikomas UAB, were identified as responsible for hosting the Cosmobet and Astekbet sites.
In June, KRAIL had already blocked up to 371 websites offering illegal gambling services in Ukraine. Between April and May, over 1,000 orders were issued to restrict access to domain names and subdomains on DNS servers, following cooperation between KRAIL and Ukraine’s Security Service.
Despite the Ukrainian parliament's decision in April to dissolve KRAIL to highlight the detrimental effects of gambling on the Ukrainian military and society, the commission appears to be functioning normally.
