The gambling business in Ukraine has been illegal since July 2009 but winds of change are blowing. The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance has put forth a draft of legislation that’s intended to legalize and regulate lottery, casinos, sports betting and online gambling but the early response from the industry has been mixed. ­

There is history at play here as gambling has been barred in Ukraine since the end of July 2009 when Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko made news by introducing the ban. It came on the heels of the tragic fire inside a slot machine salon in Dnipropetrovsk, which took the lives of nine people.

One of the reasons why the topic of gaming has been reintroduced is because the country’s economy has been struggling under heavy debt and conflict with Russia and the Ministry of Finance believes that this could give it a boost.

If the bill was to be passed, a new national gambling regulatory body would be put in place to oversee the industry and report directly to the Ministry of Finance. Businesses looking to operate in the industry would have to meet certain criteria and then apply for a Ukrainian gambling license, which is where there has been some concerns from the public.