Military personnel will be restricted from access to gambling through registries: The government launches an automatic verification system

By the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated June 17, 2026, No. 804, the Procedure for restricting military personnel from visiting gambling establishments and participating in gambling has been approved. The resolution provides for the launch of an automated system that will operate through electronic interaction of state registries and will be effective during the martial law period.

The decision was made based on the Law of Ukraine "On State Regulation of Activities Regarding the Organization and Conduct of Gambling" and creates a separate digital mechanism for controlling access to gambling for military personnel entered in the State Register of Military Personnel.

How the mechanism will work

The system is built on automatic identity verification during each attempt to participate in gambling.

During each attempt to participate in gambling, electronic identification of the person will take place in the organizer's online system. After that, a verified request is generated to the registry of persons restricted from gambling access. This registry, in turn, automatically checks information through the Military Personnel Register.

If the system detects a match, a response confirming the restriction is generated, and the person is automatically denied participation in gambling or visiting a gambling establishment.

The algorithm will look as follows:

• the player undergoes electronic identification in the gambling organizer's online system;
• a verified request is generated to the restricted persons registry;
• the registry automatically queries the Military Personnel Register in response;
• verification is carried out based on identification data (full name and taxpayer identification number);
• in case of data match, the system generates confirmation of the restriction;
• the person is not allowed to play or visit the establishment.

Military personnel are equated to "blocked" players

The procedure also establishes that military personnel entered in the Military Personnel Register receive the same restrictions as persons already included in the banned players registry. This means that full restrictions provided by the gambling law apply to them, including denial of access to gambling establishments and participation in gambling.

Verification of military personnel data in the Military Personnel Register is not hidden from the individual. In case of any request, the Ministry of Defense system automatically sends a notification to the military personnel about the fact of such verification. The notification specifies the date and time of the request, as well as the name of the gambling organizer who initiated the verification.

The procedure also provides a multi-level system of electronic interaction between state registries. First, the gambling organizer conducts electronic identification of the player and sends a verified request to the registry of persons restricted from gambling access.

After that, this registry automatically queries the Military Personnel Register for additional verification.

The verification is carried out based on the person's identification data — including surname, first name, patronymic, and taxpayer identification number. In case of data match, the system generates a response confirming the restriction, which serves as a basis for denying participation in gambling or visiting a gambling establishment.

All interaction between registries is carried out through the state resources electronic interaction system "Trembita." Requests are made as verified and signed with a qualified electronic signature confirming the correctness of identification. At the same time, it is separately established that the results of verifications are not stored in the registries after processing and are subject to automatic deletion. Only log files of the requests themselves are recorded.

At the same time, if there is no information interaction between registries or the response waiting time is exceeded, the system automatically assumes that restrictions are absent and allows the person to participate in gambling.

Earlier, "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" reported on the results of a study of Ukrainians' attitudes towards gambling. The survey shows that most citizens distance themselves from this sphere: 84% of respondents do not consider themselves gambling people, while only 15% identify as such. At the same time, every third respondent stated that they do not personally know anyone who gambles.

Despite this, the topic remains socially sensitive — 75% of Ukrainians consider gambling a serious challenge for the state. At the same time, actual experience of participation is limited: only 5% of respondents played in the past year, and 2% in the last month.

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