Ukraine Launches New Agency Named “PlayCity” to Control Gambling and Lotteries

Ukraine has Launched a new agency named “PlayCity” to control the gambling and lottery market.

“The State Agency PlayCity is now operational. Its goal is to make the gambling and lottery market transparent and accountable… PlayCity was established to replace the ineffective Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries,” the Ministry of Digital Transformation said.

Among the agency’s top priorities are digitizing the licensing process, launching a national online monitoring system to oversee legal casinos in real time, eliminating illegal gambling establishments and restarting the lottery market.

“Currently, the lottery business is operating without licensing requirements, which means it doesn’t pay license fees and isn’t subject to government oversight,” the ministry noted.

PlayCity’s responsibilities will also include relaunching the problem gamblers registry, notably by integrating it into the Diia.Engine platform, and enabling individuals to submit self-exclusion requests via the Diia app.

The head of the new state agency is Hennadiy Novikov, a lawyer with public administration experience. He previously served as deputy head of the Gambling Regulation Commission’s secretariat and, due to his expertise and understanding of the industry, supported Ministry of Digital Transformation’s vision for dismantling the former regulator.

In his previous role, Novikov initiated the process of blocking illegal online casinos. In 2024 alone, over 4500 such sites were taken down. He also facilitated inspections of gambling operators for legal compliance, resulting in nearly UAH 18 million in fines, the ministry said.