One of the conditions for comfortable play in an online casino is the use of native or convenient currency. For Ukrainians, this is the hryvnia. And while most people in the post-Soviet space measure their financial situation in dollars, in everyday life, they use their country's national currency easyreadernews.

A simple fact: less than five million Ukrainians have foreign currency accounts in banks. So, most of their transactions are conducted in hryvnias. Among these transactions are payments made on gambling websites Fruit and jackpot.

Online casinos in hryvnias existed ten years ago, but back then, they were numerous clones of "Vulkan" and other low-quality websites. Now, there are more establishments, but absolutely comfortable conditions haven't been created. Unlicensed "Eldorado" and similar options are not the casinos you can trust. And this is just one of the problems. Let's take a closer look at the issues surrounding online casinos in hryvnias.

Players Don't Want to Lose on Conversion

This is the fundamental reason why Ukrainians search for online casinos in hryvnias. And it's a complex issue:

• No one prevents you from transferring money from a hryvnia account/card to a casino with dollars or euros. But you lose on conversion. If you later withdraw, it goes both ways.
• No one prevents you from working with e-wallets. But here you lose even more. "Depositing" money https://ameblo.jp/oberonsinclair/entry-12809890694.html onto an e-wallet from a card/cash involves a loss of at least 2%. Withdrawing back involves a loss of the same 2% at minimum. In the cycle of deposit-withdrawal, losses of 3 to 10% occur due to payment commissions, conversions, and exchange commissions.
• No one prevents you from working with Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies. But here, you have fluctuating rates and fluctuating system fees. The Bitcoin blockchain can take up to 5% of the transfer amount, and sometimes even up to 20%.
• No one wants to lose money in vain. Let's give an example. A Ukrainian player with a hryvnia card opened an account at a dollar casino. They want to deposit 5,000 hryvnias. They face a UAH-USD conversion europeangaming.

Difficulties in Choosing an Online Casino | Licensed vs. Scripted - What's Better? Gaming Process

5000/26.9 = 185.9 dollars.

They played all day, boosted their account to 400 dollars, and decided to withdraw the initial deposit amount to play solely with the winnings. They requested a withdrawal of 185.9 dollars:

185.9 * 26.4 = 4,907 hryvnias.

93 hryvnias are lost in vain. Not much, but for an active player, such transactions can occur around 100 times a year outlookindia, and sometimes even 200+. 100 * 93 = 9,300. And that's already 350 dollars. Just on conversion. And we haven't even accounted for the bank's commission (0.5%), which will probably "pop up." And this is considering a situation with a reasonable bank and a normal currency spread.

The issue is clear: Ukrainian players want to play in online casinos with hryvnias. To avoid losing on conversion, to work with their native currency, and to not be distracted. But doing this is not so simple.

Not All Top Clubs Accept Hryvnia

At this stage, there's no concept of a "Ukrainian online casino" from a legislative perspective. This is because online gambling in the country is not regulated, although this may change soon.

"Ukrainian casino" is not about jurisdiction but about market orientation. For now. And until this segment is full of reputable and reliable clubs, many gamblers prefer well-established, reputable brands. Examples include BetWay, BitStarz, ComeOn, SlotsMillion, or various major Russian-speaking brands: Booi, Argo, Goldfishka, Riobet, ZigZag. Only a few of them support UAH.

Perhaps the best alternative is casinos affiliated with bookmakers. For instance, the brands "Parimatch" and "Marathon" were initially launched in Ukraine. They still have millions of customers from this country. Here's a list of such brands:

• Parimatch Casino
• Fan Sport Casino
• 1xSlots
• Favbet Casino
• Marathonbet Casino

On these sites, everything is reliable and civilized, and the coveted UAH is available. The main problem: casinos are secondary to sports betting here. The focus is on bookmakers. This translates to immense marketing budgets, a less relevant assortment, and, overall, less interest in gamblers compared to bettors. But in today's realities, this is perhaps the optimal choice.

Many Casinos in Hryvnias Operate Without a License

We return to the elusive concept of a Ukrainian online casino. By this, we mean clubs that target players from Ukraine. Some of them even have lottery licenses, which, in essence, guarantee nothing. Most of them operate without any permits. Just look at this "gem" in the "License" section of the online casino Slotoking:

As the football commentator Roman Naguchev once said: "Damn... intriguing... Brilliant!"

An unlicensed gambling site is a "gambling" site squared. Here, players not only try their luck in games with random number generators but also try their luck in terms of the authenticity of slots. Is this a genuine, unmodified machine, or is it a script? In most cases, it's the latter.

These "Ukrainian casinos" work with hryvnia, offer familiar and convenient payment methods, and even understand the audience's mentality. However, they don't guarantee the most important thing - reliability and authenticity.

If you lose 2-3% on double conversion, then on scripts with an 80% payout twist, you'll lose an additional 15%. That's in the best case. In the worst case, you'll wipe out dozens of deposits, falling into waves of programmed "hunger." And only if you're very lucky, you'll find a decent unlicensed site.

Future Legalization

Another aspect indirectly complicating the process of choosing a casino in hryvnias is the upcoming legalization of the gambling business in Ukraine. Officially, gambling has been prohibited in the country since 2009, but there has never been any law or regulator for the online segment. Everything will change in 2021. The approximate annual cost of a Ukrainian license has even been announced - $2.3 million.

The sum is quite substantial, and not every brand can afford it. But that's the beauty of it - the competition is small. And a casino that obtains the coveted license also gains a significant competitive advantage in the market.

How is legalization related to the problem of choosing an online casino in hryvnias? For instance, operators who might form the legal market in the future are currently not rushing to spend money on a Curacao license. This also requires a substantial amount of money - at least $200,000. It's easier to wait for the law to be passed, either working without any license or not working at all.

Due to the upcoming emergence of the market from the shadows, the Ukrainian government is gradually carrying out "repressions." For example, in the winter of 2020, at the authorities' prompting, courts ordered providers to block casino and sports betting operators. A number of popular brands were affected:

• JoyCasino
• Parimatch
• "Vulkan"
• "Favorit"
• 1xBet
• "Kosmolot"
• GoxBet
• SlotoKing
• ElSlots
• PMCasino
• softswiss

In total, over fifty sites ended up on the blacklist. Yes, they easily launch mirrors. But the precedent is unpleasant. The fact of blocking itself creates difficulties for those seeking online casinos in hryvnias. But what's more important is the symptom. The authorities are determined to fight those who don't want to play by the rules. And in the long term, this promises new blockades. The same scenario as in Russia is repeating. And here's what will happen next:

• Prohibition of transfers from bank cards to "undesirable" casinos;
• Prohibition of Skrill, Neteller, and e-wallets;
• Prohibition of VPN.

The initial blocking of domains and even through the court is just a small step. In the future, Ukraine will have its own Roskomnadzor, which won't require the approval of Themis to create blacklists.