Ukraine gambling body asks Google to stop blocking legal ads

The Ukrainian Gambling Council (UGC) has appealed to Google management to stop blocking ads from licensed gambling operators.

The gambling trade body appealed to the regional Ukraine Google office with a request to remove existing online advertising restrictions for both land-based and digital operators.

The UGC raised concerns the tech giant’s current blanket ban on gambling ads has had negative repercussions for the country’s regulated market.

The trade association said: “This situation leads to negative consequences and the spread of the illegal services market. Licensed companies have obtained state licenses and started marketing campaigns.

“In particular, they have become sponsors of sports competitions, but they cannot legally advertise their services online. As a result, companies lose customers and profits, and the state loses taxes.”

UGC says illegal sites able to evade Google ad ban

The association warned unlicensed operators have been less affected by the Google ad bans, due to their ability to change their site names and move domains.

To lobby for the change of policy, the trade body contacted Google LLC director Paul Terence Manicle, and the general director of the Google office in Ukraine, Tetiana Lukyniuk.

Alongside lifting current restrictions, the UGC also asked the leading search engine to allow it to officially advertise gambling on Google in Ukraine.

These would include allowing ads related to land-based venues, sports betting, online casino and virtual poker.

The UGC also called for gambling mobile apps to be officially advertised in Ukraine on Google services.

At present, the only form of gambling advertising permitted on Google in Ukraine is lotteries.

However, the UGC has long had disagreements with lottery operators in the country, which it argues have effectively been offering unlicensed gambling since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war a decade ago.

The trade body added: “However, without exception, all lottery operators work in Ukraine on the basis of licences that expired in 2014.

“In fact, lotteries imitate gambling games – betting, online casinos, slot machines, without having the appropriate licences. Also, they do not pay any taxes and licence fees to the budget.”

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