UKRAINE BAN ON GAMBLING VETO'D
12 June 2009
President Yuschenko stops parliament ban in
its tracks
The rather hysterical rush by the Verkhovna Rada to
immediately ban gambling in the Ukraine which took place
earlier this month (see previous InfoPowa report) has
been stopped in its tracks by President Viktor Yuschenko,
who exercised his right to veto after discussions with
the Eastern European country's gambling industry.
A statement by the President's office this week
confirms the veto on a proposed law to ban gambling in
residential areas, but emphasises that President
Yuschenko supports the need to control gambling until
rigorous regulatory laws can be passed, Ukranews
reports.
However, the statement advised, the
president felt that the proposed law violates a number
of constitutional provisions, seems to be populist and
vague, and may lead to the loss of some 200 000 jobs.
"If implemented, the law will cause a 21 percent
drop in GDP and the country will suffer considerable
financial losses because of shortfalls in tax receipts
from legal entities and individuals engaged in gambling
businesses," the president’s press spokesman claimed,
saying that the proposal could result in the unnecessary
criminalisation of the gambling business and a sharp
increase in illegal gambling houses.
Because of
this, Yuschenko considers the law inadequate in terms of
administrative organisation, and undesirable in its
present form. The President has made a counter proposal
that the law be reconsidered with the inclusion of a
clear legal mechanism for regulation which eliminates
any potential socio-economic and legal problems that
could arise from gambling.
The President
envisages a regime in which licenses already granted to
business entities must not be revoked until special
gambling areas are designated by a law regulating the
gambling business, after which new licenses should be
issued. The president further recommended that any
gambling business seeking a licence should be required
by law to have state social insurance including
unemployment benefits for Ukrainians working in the
gambling industry.
Gambling business owners
should be consulted in the redrafting process, the
president said, urging gambling operators to come
forward with their proposals on what the revised law
might contain.
Once these conditions have been
met, the president is prepared to sign the ban on
residential area gambling into law.
Earlier, the
Yulia Tymoshenko political faction in the Verkhovna Rada
had urged Yuschenko to immediately sign the draft law,
despite Justice Minister Mykola Onyschuk's opinion that
banning gambling businesses in populated areas of the
country violates rights of gambling establishments'
owners.
The ban was passed by parliament on May
15 after a fire at a gambling establishment in a
residential area.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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