Legal iGaming has already paid UAH 13.94 billion in taxes for the first nine months of 2025. This was stated by the President of the Association of Ukrainian Gambling Operators (AUOGB) Oleksandr Kohut in an exclusive interview with delo.ua. According to Kohut, FAVBET alone transferred UAH 6.4 billion in taxes to the state budget during this period, remaining one of the largest payers in the legal iGaming segment.
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According to Kohut, Ukrainian legal iGaming has become a significant sector of the economy in a few years: the estimated annual revenue of the “white” segment is about UAH 59 billion. At the same time, the shadow market is from UAH 37.72 to 66.53 billion, and up to 90% of illegal online casinos are of Russian origin.
“Half of the market is ‘white’ and pays taxes, while half is in the shadows today,” Kohut emphasizes. According to AUOGB estimates, the state loses UAH 17–19 billion in taxes every year due to the activities of ‘black’ operators.
If we bring this segment out of the shadows, the industry is potentially capable of providing the budget with an additional UAH 30-40 billion each year.
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Kohut directly links the success of de-offshoring with subsequent tax revenues. In just nine months of 2025, the “white” industry paid UAH 13.94 billion, and by the end of the year, the AUOGB predicts UAH 18−19 billion in taxes. At the same time, 65% of all payments are already provided by members of the Association, and after the accession of new companies, their share may increase to 75−80%.
Separately, the president of the AUOGB dwells on FAVBET, around which information attacks have been going on in recent months. “If you ask about the figures of “Favbet”, then it is no secret: for 9 months of this year they paid 6.4 billion UAH and have already published these figures,” he says, adding that such a volume of taxes is approximately equal to the annual budgets of Mykolaiv or Vinnytsia and exceeds the budgets of a number of other regional centers.
Against this background, Kohut speaks of a “planned information attack” from the shadow market, in particular online casinos linked to the Russian Federation, which are trying to show that legal operators allegedly do not pay taxes.
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In his opinion, this is the reaction of the “black” segment to the first real steps towards de-shadowing. “Before reading these “throwbacks”… I recommend looking exclusively at the numbers – how much the industry paid in taxes, how much specific players paid. The numbers don't lie,” he emphasizes.
Kohut believes that changing approaches to blocking sites is a key tool in the fight against illegal casinos. Today, the procedure can take up to ten days, which, he says, is too long for a market where half of the turnover is in the shadows.
The association proposes a model of “instant shutdown” under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, with expanded powers of the regulator PlayCity and the National Commission for the Regulation of the State Electricity Market and increased liability of Internet providers for untimely blocking.
At the same time, the president of the AUOGB admits that excessive fiscal and regulatory pressure on “white” operators is pushing some players into the shadows. He recalls that the tax burden on legal gambling in Ukraine exceeds 28%, and the norms of the legislation often contradict each other – in particular, regarding the ratio of income tax to GGR or taxation of players' winnings.
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Outlining the future architecture of the market, he warns against the temptation to monopolize or nationalize the industry, which will inevitably create a “new feeding ground” for corruption.
Instead, Kohut sees a competitive market model with a large number of licensed operators, under the control of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and with clear coordination of state bodies in the fight against the “black” segment.
According to him, the recipe for successful management of the gambling market is the absence of hyper-protection of the industry and too large a tax burden.
“The main thing that is needed in Ukraine in addition is respect for business, respect for our industry as a large taxpayer. Not political hype, but respect and honesty,” the expert summarizes.
Let us remind you that this September, Lisbon hosted one of the largest events in the field of gambling business and technology — SBC Summit Lisbon 2025, at which a delegation from Ukraine was also represented.
Previously, “FACTS” told how the state, business, and the public are joining forces to combat gaming addiction.
