Ukraine has taken a significant and decisive step toward full transparency in its gambling sector. PlayCity, the state agency responsible for overseeing and regulating the gambling and lottery business, has officially announced the launch of the first phase of the State Online Monitoring System (DSOM) into test operation. This comprehensive digital tool is designed to provide the government with an accurate, real-time picture of the entire domestic gambling market.
According to the agency’s statement, the first gambling organizers are already participating in the pilot program. Currently, two major companies have been successfully integrated into the platform. This testing phase allows technical specialists to meticulously evaluate the system’s performance and stability under real-world conditions before gradually scaling it to encompass all legal operators across the country.
Key Features of the DSOM
For the first time in its history, the Ukrainian government will receive a complete and untampered array of data regarding the gambling market, eliminating reporting delays and the risk of manual manipulation. The newly implemented system is specifically designed to:
- Collect comprehensive operational data from all participating gambling organizers.
- Instantly record every financial transaction, including initial bets, refunds, and the final payout of winnings.
- Technically eliminate any possibility of altering, deleting, or “rewriting” data once it has been transmitted to the state servers.
- Provide the State Tax Service with direct and uninterrupted access to primary transactional data. This ensures precise calculations of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) and facilitates the automatic, transparent assessment of taxes on winnings, including the military tax and personal income tax.
Addressing potential privacy concerns, PlayCity emphasized that the monitoring system does not track the personal actions of users on casino platforms, nor does it monitor the movement of their personal banking funds. The algorithm exclusively processes completed bets as strict mathematical and financial data points.
The complete rollout of the DSOM will occur in two main stages. Acting Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Alexander Bornyakov, stated that PlayCity will soon announce a public tender for the development of the system’s second phase. This upcoming upgrade will enable the government to directly control the technical parameters of slot machines and automatically record the exact outcomes of games, further minimizing the risk of fraud.
The establishment of PlayCity in March 2025 marked the beginning of a massive institutional reform aimed at cleaning up Ukraine’s gambling and lottery market. The successful launch of the DSOM is a clear indicator that the state is committed to ensuring fair play, both for businesses and consumers, while securing vital and transparent tax revenues for the national budget.