Responsible Gambling in Ukraine: Nuances of the Concept

It is difficult to imagine a casino niche without clear rules related to transparent gambling. They protect socially vulnerable segments of the population (minors, low-income people) and make demands for the security of virtual payments and personal information.

The Online Casino Market company offers you to get acquainted with the implementation of this concept in Ukraine. Our experts will gladly tell you about key regulatory documents and the benefits of installing the security software.

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Features of the Legislative Framework in the Country

In July 2020, the local market, which had been in the shadows for more than 11 years, was finally legalised.

The industry needed such a long time to be launched because of the ambiguous attitude of the authorities and society towards gambling. There has long been an opinion in the country that all its versions (slots, poker, and sports betting solutions) cause significant harm to the mental and physical health of the population.

To prove to society that casinos are an honest and transparent business, the regulators took the European experience of legalisation of the niche as a basis. As a result, the government adopted Law No.768-IX on July 14, 2020.

Anton Kuchukhidze, head of the All-Ukrainian Profile Union, stated:

Creation of comfortable and safe conditions for players is a basic component of a civilised casino market. Users must be aware of how to protect themselves while launching games for money and make sure that their rights are respected.

Let us consider the main protection mechanisms:

Limited Access for Clients

There are several categories of users who cannot enter gambling halls and web casinos:

• people under the age of 21;
• those who receive subsidies and other financial assistance from the state;
• individuals with outstanding debts on bank loans or alimony;
• excluded ones (by themselves or their relatives), put in the registers of temporary restrictions — until the end of the established period (from 6 months to 2 years).

Electronic self-restriction lists are posted by the local regulator. This is a specialised body whose powers include the issuance of licences, monitoring the activities of operators and B2B providers, creation of sectoral documents, and much more.

Multi-Level Identification

Law No.768-IX requires that gamblers pass the verification in 2 stages:

Hardware and Software Certification

The organisers should utilise only licensed equipment and solutions, and developers and suppliers have to certify their product lines on time.

The main attention is paid to the random number generator, which determines the prize combos and the order in which they appear. The availability of a verified RNG guarantees honesty and transparency of the results of games. In this case, users are protected against unfair operators who manipulate the outcomes of sessions in their favour.

The following products are subject to certification:

• casino equipment (lottery terminals, gaming cabinets, betting machines, roulette wheels);
• shuffling solutions;
• amusement content (slots, online desktop entertainment, arcades, keno, bingo, lotteries);
• management software (platforms, gateways, as well as data transmission and processing systems).

The Bill “About the Approval of the Principles of Responsible Gambling”

It was developed by the Ukrainian regulator together with representatives of the industry: casino owners, bookmakers, lottery organisers, and software vendors. In its final version, 8 postulates were formulated, and licensed entrepreneurs must adhere to them.

The document came into force at the end of 2021.

Ivan Rudy, Head of the Gambling Commission, positively assessed the development of the project:

The principles that were approved are based one way or another on the legal norms but it is impossible to write all the aspects into the law. Therefore, the Commission has to formulate them more specifically. The concept involves a huge number of rules and recommendations, and we must certainly take them into account.

It is worth mentioning the following clauses of the document:

• mandatory verification of punters;
• a ban for gambling addicts, minors, and incapacitated people;
• no stimulation of losses (operators cannot use cashback, bonuses, gifts, and other types of rewards in connection with the loss of money in a casino);
• timely notification of punters (about the obtained licence, certificates of conformity, rules of the game, the risks of developing ludomania, and other aspects of the operation of a gambling site or a land-based location);
• availability of tools for self-control (registries of temporary and permanent self-restraint or limits on the maximum size of bets and time spent on the platform);
• working with the staff (regular training and inspection of employees for their awareness of fair play and signs of ludomania).

Installation of Casino Security Programs

It is important to protect personal data and the perimeter of the gaming site by carefully checking online payments.

Security solution, a universal product for both virtual and offline projects, will help entrepreneurs to solve the above-mentioned tasks.

Let us consider the key features of the software:

Customer Verification

As a rule, developers offer two-level authentication using innovative technologies.

• Providers use biometric facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, IP address matching, and other IT solutions.
• There is always an initial verification of customers where their documents are needed: passport, driver's licence, or ID card.
• Many companies use E-signing — instant identity confirmation based on a previously generated electronic signature.
• Traditional methods such as KBA (knowledge-based) or OTP (one-time PIN) are also relevant in a dynamic market.

One of the advantages of the security solution is the ability for entrepreneurs to independently customise the verification of a module. Business owners have access to several default checks. It is possible to use only those options (such as document scanning and E-signing) that are required by local regulations.

Risk Management of Payments

More than 10 thousand financial transactions pass through successful online casinos per day. This is the transfer of money to personal accounts, the payment of winnings, the accrual of bonuses, and settlements with counterparties. It is even theoretically impossible to physically check all operations, so owners of gambling establishments cannot do without multitasking security programs.

The main functions of the risk management module:

• real-time data analysis and processing;
• checking payments for completeness of details and correspondence of IP addresses;
• control of the distribution of bonuses;
• minimisation of the number of a chargeback;
• monitoring compliance with generally accepted standards for combating money-laundering (AMF) and the sponsoring of terrorism (IMF);
• reduction of the number of false warnings and blocked transactions;
• behavioural analysis of clients (work with the VIP segment).

Protection of the Site’s Perimeter and Confidential Info

Security software offers advanced features for monitoring the operation of online casinos in round-the-clock mode.

The system instantly responds to emerging external threats, including DDoS attacks, phishing, code reverse engineering, the use of Trojan programs, and other actions of intruders.

The software guarantees the internal security of the platform. Confidential information is stored on secure servers (cloud or physical), so operators are not afraid of data leakage due to some unprofessional actions of employees.

Top Security Software Providers

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From Online Casino Market, you can buy solutions from such licensed developers as:

1. Yoti. The brand is focused on multi-level identification of gamblers. It offers authentication based on biometrics, age, document analysis, and using an electronic signature. In its work, Yoti applies AES and TwoFish encryption, NFC OCR, SDK plugins, and other IT solutions.
2. Featurespace. The software processes more than 10 thousand requests per second, including customer identification, payment analysis, hacker threat detection, and hidden associations of gamblers. The system contains a module that carries out a detailed analysis of the operator's main business lines.
3. TransUnion Company. Its solution prevents account hijacking, fraud with applications and credit/debit cards, and abuse of bonuses. The company offers a wide range of settings aimed at adapting the service to the needs of entrepreneurs and the regulatory framework of the chosen jurisdiction.
4. 4 Stop. The system is based on the popular KYC method. The brand provides multi-stage identity verification via biometrics, telephony verification, geolocation control, device ID matching, and other parameters.
5. Accertify. The firm supplies digital identification software, chargeback management systems, and site perimeter protection programs. All products comply with industry requirements for authentication (PSD2) and processing of bank cards (PCI DSS).

The Main Things about the Honest Gaming Concept in Ukraine

Support for these important rules is an integral part of the local casino industry.

• The government has developed strict legislation. It is aimed at timely authentication of customers, protection of the rights of socially vulnerable segments of the population, and mandatory certification of software.
• In 2021, the state regulator published a bill that approved the concept of responsibility. Business owners are required to promptly inform players about the risks of ludomania, conduct staff training, and provide access to self-restriction registers. It is prohibited to encourage losses: for example, it is not allowed to offer bonuses and other types of rewards for an unsuccessful bet.
• Security software helps entrepreneurs adhere to the basic transparency rules. These are timely customer identification, analysis of money transfers on the Web, etc.

From the Online Casino Market studio, you can purchase software from the most reliable vendors.

We offer the following certified solutions:

• turnkey web platforms;
• White Label projects;
• casino scripts;
• slot machines based on RNG, and much more.

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For all questions, please contact our managers.