Most gambling markets in the Eurasian region developed relatively recently. Many of these jurisdictions emerged from the Soviet Union and began building their regulatory frameworks only after gaining independence in the 1990s. 

As a result, gambling regulation in the region often followed a similar trajectory: early periods of weak or fragmented oversight, followed by either prohibition or partial restrictions, and eventually the introduction of structured licensing regimes aimed at bringing the industry under central control.

The 4H Agency prepared the overview by analyzing market trends, industry sources, regulatory materials, and data from the OnlyFacts database to illustrate how gambling regulation has evolved across the region’s key jurisdictions: Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Kazakhstan.
 

Georgia

• Until the early 2000s, regulation remained inconsistent while the market expanded under relatively liberal tax conditions. At that time, policymakers even considered a complete ban on gambling due to the lack of effective oversight, although this approach was ultimately abandoned.

• A turning point came in 2004 with the adoption of the licensing law, which introduced the beginning of a structured regulatory framework. At that time, the online segment was just an extension of the regulated land-based market.

• During the 2010s, the sector expanded rapidly, with online gambling becoming an important source of public revenue. Online was eventually separated from land-based operations.
• In 2022, the government introduced stricter rules, including a register of individuals prohibited from gambling, higher age requirements, tighter advertising restrictions, and increased tax pressure.
   

Ukraine

• In the 1990s, gambling in Ukraine was legal but only lightly regulated. Over the years, the government has gradually attempted to introduce oversight mechanisms.
• Despite these efforts, the sector was fully banned in 2009, pushing most gambling activity into the shadow economy throughout the 2010s.
• After more than a decade of prohibition, Ukraine re-legalized gambling in 2020 under a new regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL). However, the institutional model proved unstable – by 2023, several members of the commission had resigned, and by 2024, its work was effectively paralyzed due to the lack of a quorum. As a result, the government decided to restructure the regulatory framework.
• In January 2025, KRAIL was dissolved and replaced with PlayCity – a new digital regulator designed to operate under modern regulatory conditions. Following the reform, licensing activity resumed, and enforcement intensified.
   

Armenia

• In the early 2000s, regulation was focused on licensing land-based gambling facilities in designated locations. Online gambling was not addressed in the legal framework, and oversight was carried out by the Ministry of Finance. 
• In 2003, a new law consolidated and clarified the regulation of land-based gambling. Further, between 2005 and 2010, legislative amendments began to incorporate online gambling into the regulatory system. However, the model remained closely tied to physical infrastructure, requiring online operations to be conducted through licensed premises.
• In the 2020s, online was separated from land-based operations, following the example of Georgian regulations.
• A major reform was introduced in 2024 with the adoption of a new gambling law focused on transparency and technological oversight. The legislation introduced an electronic monitoring system for gambling transactions and placed supervisory authority with the State Revenue Committee.
• Further regulatory adjustments in 2025–2026 aim to establish a single monitoring operator to collect operational data from all gambling operators.
   

Kazakhstan

• In the 1990s, the gambling sector in Kazakhstan developed in a fragmented manner. Slot halls, casinos, and lottery formats appeared in major cities without unified regulation, while state oversight remained limited.
• A comprehensive gambling law was introduced only in 2006, formally defining gambling activities, prohibiting online casinos, and establishing the basic legal framework for land-based operations.
• A major policy shift occurred in 2012 when the government imposed significant restrictions on the sector, yet online regulation remained unclear.
• In 2015, the government increased the fixed tax rates applied to betting operators and raised deposit requirements, significantly boosting state revenues from the sector over the following decade. Additional regulatory tightening occurred in 2020, when taxes on gambling equipment were doubled, and new operational requirements were introduced.
• Another key reform was implemented in 2021, when betting payments were centralized through the Unified Betting Accounting Centre (UBAC). The system allows regulators to monitor transactions between operators and players while restricting betting to sports events only, prohibiting wagers on political or virtual events.

Based on the regulatory information in the OnlyFacts iGaming database, it can be reasonably concluded that the evolution of gambling regulation in Eurasia reflects a gradual shift from fragmented markets to structured licensing systems as governments sought to regain control over growing gambling sectors. 

The cyclical nature of regulation and the increasing use of technological oversight and centralized monitoring reflect a common regional goal: improving transparency and strengthening the competitiveness of the licensed market against offshore operators.

In the next part, we’ll examine the strengths of the Eurasian regulatory model, along with the structural challenges and regulatory gaps that continue to shape market development. 

 

 

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