Gennady Novikov, head of Playcity, a body that controls activities in the field of gambling, online casinos, and lotteries, publicly explained which online media can start advertising casinos again.
Gennady Novikov, head of Playcity, a body that controls activities in the field of gambling, online casinos, and lotteries, publicly explained which online media can start advertising casinos again.
According to Gennady Novikov, online media registered with the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting «must clearly identify themselves as media with an age rating of „21+“ by placing appropriate markings and warnings.»
How could this be done? Here are the instructions from Playcity:
As the analysis of the media space conducted by the dev.ua editorial team showed, the following media outlets have already become «adult»: korrespondent.net, tsn.ua, liga.net, nv.ua, forbes.ua, glavcom.ua, as well as a number of smaller media and industry-specific online media outlets.
All of them now have a message in the footer of their website that they are now 21+ media. All of these sites can now advertise casinos again.
Some media outlets simply notice that it is now for people 21+. And some write appeals to young people to leave the site. «If you are under 21, please leave this site,» says the sports website of «Ukrainian Pravda» — «Champion.»
On tsn.ua, which, according to Similarweb, had 22 million visits in July, it says: " The Site Administration is not responsible for the legality of using the Site and its services by a User who has not reached the age of 21. »
We also have a 21+ rating. We conducted a reader survey and found out that only 4% of our audience is under 21. The reason is that most of our readers are employees of IT companies (also proven by the survey), so this is our main target audience. Employees of IT companies are usually adults.
So, IT guy, our dear June, if you’re reading this now and you’re under 21, it’s all at your own risk. We’re not responsible for this, you came here yourself!
Advertising of betting, gambling, and sports betting had to be urgently banned in May 2024. The Cabinet of Ministers adopted the relevant resolution. The adoption of such a categorical restriction was due to the fact that in March of the same year , a petition by a serviceman of the 59th brigade, Pavlo Petrichenko, appeared on the website of the Office of the President. He emphasized that soldiers spend their earnings on gambling, take out loans to cover debts, and sometimes even pawn military equipment, including drones and thermal imaging cameras, to make payments.
«The gambling business takes advantage of this vulnerability by deliberately directing its advertising at military personnel, using the symbols of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its online casinos, and „whitewashing“ its activities with small charitable donations in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,» wrote Pavlo Petrychenko.
The government’s resolution was a temporary measure. In order to completely eradicate casino advertising from the Ukrainian media space, in January 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 9256-d, the purpose of which, among other things, is to enshrine a ban on casino advertising in Ukrainian legislation.
In its first reading, it clearly stated that any advertising of gambling is prohibited, including in online media; on the Internet, on video-sharing platforms (such as YouTube), and on information-sharing platforms.
However, in the second reading, these points were significantly transformed. The amendment was added by MP Danylo Hetmantsev: interesting exceptions to the rules appear in the total ban on casino advertising.
Thus, advertising becomes permitted, including in online media registered in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Media» and intended for persons over 21 years of age, as well as on video platforms and sharing platforms, provided that the technical possibility of targeting advertising to persons over 21 years of age is used.
We asked Danylo Hetmantsev why he decided to radically change the essence of the law in the second reading. We wrote to him on Facebook messenger and on the Telegram channel. However, there was no response. We also wrote to Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the co-author of the bill, in the TG. He read our questions, but did not answer.
As Playcity representatives informed us in an official response, the law currently does not specify criteria that online media 21+ must meet, and the issue of determining such criteria falls within the competence of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting.
«Currently, gambling advertising is allowed in registered online media that are intended for users 21+. However, the legislation does not specify the criteria for such media,» Natalya Dankova, a columnist for the specialized publication «Detector Media,» told us.
We sent a request to the National Council, but did not receive a response for a week. However, a dev.ua journalist managed to talk to a member of the National Council, Oleksandr Burmagin.
He reported that the department was not involved in developing such 21+ criteria.
«Even if there was, in my opinion, it would be a very fun task… How is it possible: to take a site and decide that it is intended for 20 or 18 years old, or 25? The age history does not take off in terms of the possibility of monitoring and control,» emphasizes Burmagin.
Therefore, he says that a bill is currently being prepared for the second reading, according to which, based on the principle of advertising on TV, time limits for alcohol and casino advertising will also be prescribed for online media and online platforms.
Until these amendments to the law are adopted, a paradoxical situation is developing in the market. Everyone who is not lazy has started adding themselves to the National Council’s media register in order to obtain the appropriate status.
«Now it is written that anyone can start online projects, the main thing is to register… and we have an unnecessary burden on anyone. Because these 400 new entities would never have come to register if the parliament hadn’t written this nonsense,» Mr. Burmagin shares his personal opinion.
As of August 1, 2025 , the register contains information about 2,985 media entities that own 6,323 media outlets.
Among them are online platforms, Telegram channels, Instagram accounts, YouTube accounts. Even the social networks of popular casino brands have received the status of official media.
In fact, every Instabloger can now register, put a 21+ mark, and legally advertise gambling! Legally.
The price of being added to the list of official media is affordable. Registration costs only 4,000 UAH. Moreover, Burmagin confirmed to us that journalists of «new media» also have the right to bear arms (like ordinary journalists of official media).
«Everyone came running there… even some Whatsapp chat rooms where they place bets, but they still refused,» the member of the National Council emphasizes.
To start advertising a casino, while there are no other regulations, as Burmagin explains, you need to put a disclaimer in the future — that the site is aimed exclusively at 21+.
«Such practice!» he emphasizes and puts a smiley face.
«Is a note at the end of the site enough for this, or do users have to take a survey and confirm their age when they enter the site, or should there be restrictions or warnings?» asks Natalya Dankova.
According to her, this issue should be resolved by a joint regulatory body.
«It is within its powers to create rules (broadcasting codes) that should define the requirements for the distribution of gambling advertising in the media. This is the task of co-regulatory bodies in all areas, and in particular in the online sphere,» she emphasizes.
Such an association was created and registered in June last year (Public Organization «Joint Regulatory Body in the Field of Online Media»).
«However, as far as I know, it has not yet created any rules to regulate the sector. The very first task of this body in the field of online media is to create criteria for online media. And even those do not exist yet,» says the representative of Detector Media.
That is why, in her opinion, we now have a situation where the National Council registers online media according to formal criteria and even online casinos receive such status.
