Ukraine’s Gambling Council (UGC) is calling on the international community to adopt a technology-driven approach to combat the rapid growth of illegal online gambling platforms — many of which use cryptocurrencies, social media and offshore operations to evade regulation.

Key details:

  • Scope of the issue: Illegal operators now make up a significant share of the projected $618.7 billion global iGaming market by end of 2025. 
  • UGC’s concerns: Deputy Chair Viktoriya Zakrevskaya underscored how cryptocurrencies and social media allow unlicensed platforms to grow undetected and unregulated. 
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International examples:

  • Argentina requires public Wi‑Fi providers to block access to illegal gambling sites using regulator-issued blacklists and enforces robust age and identity verification via enhanced KYC protocols.
  • Indonesia has shut down over 26,000 bank and e-wallet accounts tied to unlicensed gambling.
  • In the USA, unlicensed platforms are growing almost twice as fast as licensed ones, with over 80% of users exposed to ads for illegal sites. Efforts are underway to strengthen crypto regulation, restrict offshore registrations and enforce tighter ad moderation by big tech companies.

Ukraine’s own strategy:

  • UGC is working with Meta to take down Instagram accounts that promote unlicensed casinos through staged “wins” and direct links to banned operators.
  • Meanwhile, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and PlayCity are developing a national real-time gambling monitoring system. This will allow for oversight of individual bets, refunds, payouts, market volumes and taxation — all transparent to the public.

For more information and technical details from the Ukrainian side, visit the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine — they’re leading the development of the national monitoring system.