The newly created Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries in Ukraine has denied a casino licence to the Dnipro hotel in Kyiv. 

The authority said that the hotel’s paperwork included mistakes that meant a casino licence could not be granted. The paperwork included an error with the address provided, while there were several inconsistencies in the hotel floor plan.  

The regulator requires an accurate floor plan to ensure the hotel meets the legal requirement that states hotels need 300 square metres to offer slot machines.  

According to reports, the hotel requested a casino licence in December, just months after the commission was set up by the Ukrainian Government. Last August, gambling in Ukraine was legalised and the regulatory body was formed to control the brand-new market.  

So far, the Ukrainian Commission has issued 18 licences, which includes casino licences to seven high-end hotels in Kyiv.

The Dnipro hotel was bought by Esports entrepreneur Alexander Kokhanovskyy for a fee of $41m (£29.6m), and he initially wanted to run the hotel around Esports. However, after purchasing the hotel in July 2020, the legalisation of gambling in Ukraine followed, which altered Kokhanovskyy’s vision.  

But mistakes in the paperwork have delayed the process. Kokhanovskyy told the Kyiv Post that the hotel will amend the mistakes and submit another application.