Military personnel gamble no more than average in Ukraine — Kantar study

Military personnel play the most popular type of gambling — online casinos — even less than the general audience, although the average check that a military person spends on the game is somewhat larger — UAH 3,100 versus UAH 2,700 on average in the country.

The findings are part of a special study conducted by international firm Kantar commissioned by the Association of Ukrainian Gambling Business Operators.

"The problem of gambling addiction among military personnel is exaggerated. Sociological data does not confirm that gambling addiction is widespread or unique to this group. They gamble no more than the average Ukrainian," association president Oleksandr Kohut said.

The representative nationwide Kantar study surveyed men and women ages 18-69 who used gambling services in the past three months, according to the association’s press service. The 20-minute online survey was conducted using the Kantar Access Panel. Researchers contacted the Defense Ministry to gain sociologists’ access to military personnel and ensure the study’s representativeness.

The Kantar study showed military personnel’s gambling activity patterns are identical to the general audience, with higher spending explained by military members’ higher average salaries.

"Ukrainians tend to overestimate the prevalence of gambling among military personnel: more than 50% consider it widespread, although only about 20-25% personally know someone in the military who has ever gambled," the study said.

The association emphasized that such results confirm the ineffectiveness of bans on military personnel playing at legal licensed casinos, as some politicians and officials have proposed, since such measures cannot block Russian illegal casinos in the Ukrainian internet segment.

"A decision to restrict military personnel would be a good gift to illegal operators; lobbyists for the illegal market would be popping champagne. As a result, military personnel won’t stop gambling, but the state budget and legal licensed operators will suffer significant losses. The illegal operators will benefit. We very much hope that authorities will not make a decision against the state’s interests," Kohut said.

The association president also emphasized that such restrictions pose significant national security risks. "Ninety percent of illegal platforms originate from Russia. Russian platforms, at the behest of Russian intelligence services, can easily use their sites for illegal data collection about our military personnel and, most importantly, for recruitment," Kohut said.

The state should take balanced steps to make the legal licensed market more competitive compared with illegal operators, such as allowing the legal industry to use Bank ID for faster registration and identification, where illegal operators currently have an advantage, he said.

Kohut said Kantar will conduct another study in 2026, and the Responsible Gaming Center will conduct a separate study. The association will promptly publish all research results.