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Ukraine reclassifies Poker as a Sport, exempts Game from Anti-Gambling Laws |
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Tags:
Ukraine.
Posted on 29 August 2018 by "T".
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It looks like poker in Ukraine could potentially be able to flourish once again right after the country's Ministry of Youth and Sport decided to re-classify the game as a sport, thus exempting it from the country's anti-gambling laws.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Youth and Sport published document 3780. Written in Ukrainian language, the translation says that "II.119 sport poker" is now included on the country's Register of Recognized Sports.
Ministers switch back and forth on Poker
This recent political move came to light eight years after the government took poker off from its list of national sports. Being previously determined that the game is quite distinctive from other forms of gambling such as slots, roulette and blackjack, the Justice Minister decided to reverse its standing in 2010.
Upon the passing of the 2009 "On Prohibition of Gambling Business in Ukraine" act, the game's status was reviewed and ministers agreed to the conclusion that poker conflicted with an integral part of the anti-gambling law.
Even though that was the case, representatives of Ukraine's poker clubs raised their argument to the Supreme Court, saying that poker should be exempt from the new laws. The case was reviewed again in 2013, and the Supreme Court judges ruled in favor of the clubs but it only applies to tournament poker.
This somewhat minor success allowed the clubs to remain operational; however, the troubles with Russia in Crimea a year later meant the ministers had stopped enacting any other gambling laws.
Because of this, poker has been placed in a gray area since 2013.
Sport Status may bring Stability
Despite local clubs being allowed to host poker tournaments, cash games remained totally illegal. Online operators had no choice but to relocate their servers outside of Ukraine to avoid being prosecuted. In 2016, the country's biggest network iPoker exited Ukraine as part of its decision to move away from unregulated and undefined markets.
Now that the government has reclassified poker as a sport, new regulations may be coming. At this point, the term "poker sport" simply means that the game isn't lumped in with the other types of gambling and so it's not subject to the 2009 law.
However, this could mean that it's the first step towards establishing a new legislation.
Even if it's still too early to conclude that poker will be staying indefinitely in Ukraine, its status as a sport will at least exempt it from Ukraine's anti-gambling laws.
Ukraine's Poker Players
The country of Ukraine actually has an active presence in the poker community. The International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP) has a Ukrainian division, and its members Eugene Katchalov and Yevgeniy Timoshenko are known as two of the country's most productive players.
According to The Hendonmob.com, here are the current top 10 players on Ukraine's all-time money list:
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Rank
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Player
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Earnings
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1
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Eugene Katchalov
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$ 9,235,296
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2
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Yevgeniy Timoshenko
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$ 7,684,951
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3
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Oleksii Khoroshenin
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$ 3,581,956
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4
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Artem Metalidi
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$ 3,402,679
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5
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Igor Yaroshevskyy
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$ 3,133,595
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6
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Alexander Dovzhenko
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$ 2,426,208
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7
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Oleksi Kovalchuk
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$ 2,339,359
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8
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Sergii Baranov
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$ 1,242,334
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9
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Vadim Shlez
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$ 1,188,844
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10
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Anton Makiievskyi
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$ 1,122,027
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Source:
https://calvinayre.com/2018/08/27/poker/poker-now-exempt-from-anti-gambling-laws-in-the-ukraine/
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31 comments on "Ukraine reclassifies Poker as a Sport, exempts Game from Anti-Gambling Laws"
| Gerimantas | 29/08/2018 22:01:10 GMT |
| I not know personally if poker is sport to me or gambling like blackjack, yes some players win many moneys and look like they know how to beat people, but they also have periods where lose all money and can go broke
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| doubletop777 | 30/08/2018 07:14:35 GMT |
| I think that this has been a very good step by the Ukrainian government and i salute them for doing it. I really hope that this all works out well and people can go back to playing and enjoying this 'sport'
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| Gerimantas | 30/08/2018 13:41:48 GMT |
| I think about it many times and i not think it is sport, because in sport there is too some luck, but i think many time more luck in poker and also people who play first tournament someti win and i not know sport where new player can win tournament, maybe one match but nit tournament
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| Mober | 30/08/2018 14:25:39 GMT |
It is not about luck, determining if it is a sport or not.
Things are too simple actually, for someone to understand what a sport is.
Here is the definition from oxford dictionaries :
NOUN
An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
You are getting too physical, by playing poker, huh.. ?.
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| Serpang | 30/08/2018 14:50:30 GMT |
Posted by Mober:
It is not about luck, determining if it is a sport or not.
Things are too simple actually, for someone to understand what a sport is.
Here is the definition from oxford dictionaries :
NOUN
An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
You are getting too physical, by playing poker, huh.. ?. |
That is old dictionary , this world always change, and you still use old standard which never change.
Do you know MIND sport ? How about chess and bridge game ? Do you know bridge game ?
Try to read IMSA ( International Mind Sport Association) website 
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| Mober | 30/08/2018 15:14:01 GMT |
And who told you that i consider chess for example a sport.
It isnt. There is no such thing as mind sport. All that is bull.
And im not the only one who believes that.
Call it whatever you want, but poker or chess for example, is not a sport and never will be,
regardless if some want to.
Old dictionary? Standards? Seriously? I guess definition and meaning of a single word, changes by time, right?
What else am i gonna hear, i wonder...
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| pajalnick | 30/08/2018 17:03:06 GMT |
| Well, that's the good news ... I usually see that poker is banned in different countries and then the opposite action ... of course Ukraine did it to be more attractive to online poker players .. this is a PR move ... but in any case it's good action and I congratulate Ukrainian players
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| damosk | 30/08/2018 18:35:36 GMT |
| It’s a crazy old world isn’t it, where one nation can decide something is a sport when another nation states it is not. What is vein crazier, is that just because your favourite card game is now a sport means that you can gamble away on it to your hearts content without it being subject to gambling rules.
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| dule-vu | 31/08/2018 13:07:16 GMT |
| well maybe its sport in ukraine from now,but it will still be ilegal in country when you play for money and why lot of companies cant have servers in ukraine!so this still have to be changed on some different places and that people can play normally!
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| pajalnick | 31/08/2018 18:07:34 GMT |
| as far as I know in Byelorussia, too, it is not forbidden ... but if in Ukraine they do not treat Russia very well then this is not in Belarus .... therefore, it's not the first time I think that if Russia is banned from online poker, then you can move to Belarus ... these are my thoughts
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| CALICUL | 31/08/2018 18:44:10 GMT |
Is a decision that helps poker players, not only tax authorities and this is very good. For example in Romania if in a year you earn over $ 16,500 then the fee is 25%. Between 2500 dollars and 16,500 the fee is 16% and if you win under $ 2500 you pay 1%. I think is reasonable but in Ukraine is much better. 
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| Gerimantas | 31/08/2018 21:34:37 GMT |
| I read what mober say and not know, but chess to me is sport, because you can have professional chess player who learns big, plays many hours and if.you new to chess you lose versus professional all time, and it.is.not same.situation to poker, you caj beat.professional in poker game
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| erru9107 | 31/08/2018 23:38:50 GMT |
This surely opens the doors for a lot of poker clubs and casinos to start hosting some nice games. And not to mention the possibility for the inhabitants of that country to start earning good money online. Good news for us is that since most of the people from that country will be unfamiliar with the game, the fishpool will increase quite a bit 
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| damosk | 01/09/2018 07:33:08 GMT |
| Something new or revised is always good for everyone. The companies can make millions out of the countless people who want to play poker, as well as the countless numbers who will play poker because it is now available, even though the would probably otherwise be playing bingo. So , if you know how t play poker, get in there and make some money!
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| Mober | 01/09/2018 16:03:08 GMT |
You dont have to search the internet or encyclopedias for hours, to understand
how simple things are.
Here it is :
The greek word for Sport, is Athlema, the ones that are doing the sport,
or Athlema, are called Athletes (greek word again).
Does it ring any bells now?
Can you call a chess player an athlete?... can you call a poker player an athlete?...
Of course not, cause simply they are not !!!
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| T3ddyKGB | 01/09/2018 17:08:31 GMT |
Posted by Serpang: Posted by Mober:
It is not about luck, determining if it is a sport or not.
Things are too simple actually, for someone to understand what a sport is.
Here is the definition from oxford dictionaries :
NOUN
An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
You are getting too physical, by playing poker, huh.. ?. |
That is old dictionary , this world always change, and you still use old standard which never change. Do you know MIND sport ? How about chess and bridge game ? Do you know bridge game ? Try to read IMSA ( International Mind Sport Association) website |
sometmies old things are still the best things. i share mobers opinion. i like poker but its definatly no sport to me. some may say its "mindsport" but i dont even find you can call it mindsport..
lets be honest: its simply a "PARLOUR GAME"
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| CALICUL | 01/09/2018 18:45:27 GMT |
| Companies make money from poker, this is true ( I refer to those with reputation ) but there are some poker rooms like Party Poker, all I Poker Network or others who do not want to pay the license fee. Then they are locked in some countries like Romania and play poker to make money if you can with this restriction. Ukraine has a good law now.
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| maragatero | 03/09/2018 21:29:07 GMT |
Well this is a good news for this country, it isn´t it? In my country actually the justice (only one judge for now) are begining to banned the poker´s room and only 888poker be safe for now. As I can see in your experience, this matter have no end. I thought that it could be some lapsed thing but I have to prepare for a long while... 
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| Mysik86 | 04/09/2018 09:16:24 GMT |
Posted by Mober:
You want to make another category? Fine. But do not start characterizing everything
as a sport, because it is convenient and it fits your agenda ! |
It always better to character poker as sport, than treat it like gambling and ban it, like here in Poland... I would like to play poker as a sport, than don't play because it's illegal.
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| Mober | 04/09/2018 18:23:47 GMT |
They can say it is legal as a gmae without characterizing it a sport.
It is all about politics at the end as usual, which is bull as usual.
And let me give you an example, with what has happened here.
Something that i have said in the past also.
They changed the law about online gambling, with main reason of that protecting
the citizens from the gamble.
Then they started selling licenses, asking tax also on profit.
And the cherry on the pie was, that they have opened physical shops,
all over the place. Physical shops that are full with slots.
You see how much they care?
Calling it a sport is not a solution.
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| CALICUL | 04/09/2018 18:54:57 GMT |
| This problem has not passed and i would like one single thing: Party Poker and Netbet to be accepted in my country. With these 2 rooms and the other 3 that are at this moment get to the figure of 5 rooms. In this way the players would be much more satisfied and Argentina you will have to proceed like Ukraine, or with only 5 poker rooms but the best in the industry.
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| maragatero | 04/09/2018 21:33:55 GMT |
Yes, I want it! the disussion about if poker game is or not a sport is a fake matter. The real thing is how could be admited a game in a country and how there could avoid to treat it as an ilegal activity. Because are many ilegal activities in the world that have to be persecuted and repressed ( I haven´t to make a list, isn´t it?) for to make a card game another one of them, and all of us criminals  Then Athenas could keep the athletas...
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| CALICUL | 05/09/2018 18:56:13 GMT |
| Today i talked with a BRM user Mysik86 from Poland. The situation there is more dramatic because they can not play online or live poker. In this country poker is totally restricted in this moment. Were people who played poker in a charitable situation and they were arrested. Very dramatic...
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| Serpang | 06/09/2018 08:04:44 GMT |
Wow...so bad. How about human right ? Is government like that really know poker tournament ? or they THINK they know and they know what is the best for their citizen  How about pro player?
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| CALICUL | 06/09/2018 18:57:13 GMT |
| Governments once again prove they are not able to properly judge certain issues. I like Poland because it has very good laws in other areas but here should be a little more tolerable. There are many Polish who would like to play poker and their request must be considered.
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