Several operators of slot machine halls have won cases against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). These companies have sued about EUR500 thousand of moral damages for revoking gambling licenses without compensation. The information has been published on Facebook page of Elena Lyoshenko, a lawyer working with international court.
The names of the companies are Sweet Rozvag (Kharkov), Igro-Bet (Lviv) and a citizen Stanko (Zakarpattia). In this case, the European Court found a violation of property rights under Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the Convention. The violation was recognized due to the fact that the state did not provide compensation to licensees after revoking licenses for the gambling business, in connection with the entry into force of the new law. The amount of compensation by the decision of the European Court are as follows: Sweet Rozvag - EUR300 thousand of material damage and EUR17 thousand of legal costs; citizen Stanko - EUR58.5 thousand of material damage and EUR2.2 thousand of legal costs; Igro-Bet - EUR135 thousand of material damage and EUR214 of legal costs.
It is worth mentioning that gambling was banned in Ukraine in 2009. Cabinet of Ministers excluded gambling from the list of economic activities, which can be licensed in 2010. Operators have not received compensation. In January Olympic Entertainment Group filed a lawsuit against Ukraine in international arbitration because of the introduction of the ban and the closure of its casino and the resulting losses of 40 million euros.
