Legalization of gaming business and hotel industry: points of contact

Abstract

Socio-economic problems and long-term discussions in Ukrainian politics and business about finding new models of profits from the hotel industry have put on the agenda the issue of increasing regional revenues and replenishing the budget of Ukraine through the introduction of gaming hotels and development of special entertainment areas. Despite significant scientific achievements and revealed problems in the hotel industry, today it is extremely important to assess the impact of legalization of gambling in Ukraine on the functioning of hotel enterprises. Therefore, the main task in presenting the material of the article is to assess the possible ways of development of the hospitality industry of Ukraine due to the official permission to conduct gambling business in hotels. The gambling business existed in Ukraine until 1917, after which it was banned until 2009. In autumn 2010, the draft law of Ukraine «On Gambling» was developed, but it was not adopted by the parliament due to the need to finalize and clarify it with a focus on world experience of interaction of gambling zones with the authorities and to separate gambling from bookmaking. The draft of this bill partly belonged to the measures to ensure Ukraine's preparation for Euro-2012. In 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the bill №2285-d "On state regulation of the organization and conduct of gambling", which will enter into force in 2021. Analyzing the many years of global experience in gambling, we can conclude that in this legal activity of gambling establishments at hotels will have more advantages than disadvantages. One of the projects announced by the leadership of Ukraine is called «Danube» and is planned to be implemented in part on the territory of the national nature park «Tuzla estuaries» and adjacent recreational areas of Odessa region. The 500-hectare project between Lake Sasyk and the Black Sea envisages the construction of a 10 km embankment, more than 80 hotels with 150 to 1,000 rooms, the creation of 5,000 jobs, and the arrangement of a venue for festivals and a gaming zone. The resort is planned as a year-round (figure) and provides for the construction of the first hotels in 2022, and the appearance of the first million tourists - in 2025, 6 million tourists are projected in 2030. The first investment from scratch will be $ 2.5 billion. USA. According to our research, this project is very risky and can lead to the destruction of the nature of the national nature park. In the case of the actual implementation of this project requires extremely serious economic calculations, which must involve scientists from different sectors of the economy.

Keywords

• gambling business, hotel industry, hotel industry, casino, slot machine, bookmaker, priority zone of gambling business