Ukrainians in problem gamblers register triple to nearly 13,000

The number of Ukrainians in the Register of Problem Gamblers has tripled over the year. Most of them are voluntary: people ask to restrict their access to gambling.

This is evidenced by the data from the Opendatabot monitoring system.

As of the beginning of March 2025, almost 13 thousand people in Ukraine are included in the Register of problem gamblers. The number of such entries has tripled over the year - last year, more than 9 thousand new people were added to the list. At the same time, almost 1.5 thousand people were excluded from the list after the restriction period expired.

In total, almost 15 thousand Ukrainians have been registered in the registry since its inception. The overwhelming majority - 99% - applied for a temporary ban on gambling on their own. Such a ban can be valid for six months to three years. The remaining 1% are people who were included in the registry by a decision of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling (CRG), but no one has been included in court yet.

Screenshot: Opendatabot

On average, about 780 people were added to the register every month last year, which is almost three times more than in 2023. Most applications were received in April, and the least in June. And in the first two months of 2025, more than 1,700 new people were added to the list - an average of 860 per month, which is 10% more than in the previous year.

Despite the growth in the number of applications, experts say that this registry does not reflect the full picture - many people addicted to gambling remain behind the scenes, including those who play in online casinos.

The newly created state agency PlayCity, which replaced the liquidated KRAIL in 2025, plans to restart the registry based on the Diia.Engine platform. The new tool promises to be more convenient, automated, and efficient - a person will be able to add themselves to the registry in just a few clicks.

In 2025, Ukraine's leading IT companies earned more than UAH 56 billion, an increase of only 1% compared to the previous year. For the first time, GlobalLogic Ukraine took the top spot in the ranking, and in total, seven companies from Dia City remained in the top 10 - two dropped out of the list.

At the same time, another problem is growing - gambling addiction. Experts of the free legal aid system explain how to protect yourself from a legal point of view if gambling turns from entertainment to a threat to health and well-being.

In 2020, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 2285-d on state regulation of gambling. The document criminalizes illegal gambling, allows gambling halls to be opened only in three-star hotels, and sets an age limit - only those who are 21 years old can gamble.

Анна Бальчінос