Competition agency recommends that govt drafts new lotteries legislation
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine insists on drawing up new legislation on the lottery market. The committee said that the introduction of licenses conditions would not solve the problems appeared, authorized official of Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee Ahiya Zahrebelska has said.
"The current problems should be solved via amending legislation and then at the level of bylaws, or do it synchronously," she told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday after presenting a study of the lottery market.
The government's bill registered in parliament does not remove gaps in legislation, she said.
She said that the document was not approved by the commission on Thursday due to a lack of quorum, although the issue is on the agenda of the meeting to be held in two weeks.
As reported, the Antimonopoly Committee did not endorse the draft government resolution approving licensing conditions for conducting business activities for organizing lotteries and setting the amount of fees for issuing a license to carry out economic activities on organizing lotteries, as criteria for licensees are not unbiased.
"The licensing conditions offered by the Ministry of Finance provide for the admission of one player to the market," Zahrebelska said.
Among the discriminatory requirements the committee pointed out the condition of 10 years of experience in the lottery market for obtaining a license and giving preferences to state-owned banks. The committee also insists on the need to eliminate gaps in legislation, which does not distinguish between lotteries and other gambling, including betting and slot machines. The presented licensing conditions will not allow new operators to enter the market, Zahrebelska said.
"We insist that the problems of the lottery market need to be solved here and now. It is unacceptable to close the eyes and approve the current licensing conditions," she said, presenting the report.
According to the study materials, in addition to the amendments to the law on state lotteries of Ukraine, the committee recommends that the government also develops a number of amendments to bylaws. These include, inter alia, the introduction of mandatory requirements for organizing lotteries through the Internet and mobile applications, the binding of the mandatory use of the system for acceptance of electronic bets and the introduction of a register of models and terminals of the electronic system for the acceptance of the bets.
The proposals of the committee after their approval will be forwarded to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.