Ukrainian Gambling Companies Lose Licences Over Alleged Russian Links

^{FAVBET CASINO in Kyiv, Ukraine}

Ukraine continued to take action against gambling operators suspected of ties to Russia.

Since 2022, regulators and law enforcement agencies have looked beyond the formal status of licences, examining ultimate owners, intermediaries, sources of funding and effective control.

In June 2026, PlayCity took action against two casino operators: Favorit Kazino Kompani and Favbet VIP Kazino. The former operated under the FAVBET CASINO and FAVBET POKER brands, while the latter used the BILLIONAIRE brand. According to PlayCity, the companies were connected to Russia either directly, through intermediaries or through their ultimate beneficial owners.

The first high-profile decisions came in 2022, when KRAIL revoked two licences held by Tvoya Bettingovaya Kompaniya, which operated under the 1xBet brand, after Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security concluded that the brand was linked to Russia. The company’s corporate rights were later transferred to ARMA, Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency.

In 2023, the most prominent case involved Parimatch. The company ceased operations in Ukraine after sanctions were imposed by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine. The brand’s websites were blocked, and the company said about UAH 250 million in customer funds had been frozen in accounts. In August 2023, KRAIL revoked Parimatch’s Ukrainian licences.

Pin-Up has followed a separate track. One of the brand’s legal entities, Viktoria-Soft, lost its B2B licence in 2023. Courts upheld findings that the company had submitted inaccurate information about the absence of control by Russian residents. Another Pin-Up legal entity lost its licence under PlayCity in 2025.

In 2026, PlayCity continued the trend. The regulator revoked the licence of lottery operator Patriot after finding that its ultimate beneficial owner did not meet legal requirements. The company had previously been linked to Russian businessman Oleg Boyko.

The action against FAVBET and BILLIONAIRE therefore fits into a wider pattern: a formal licence is no longer sufficient if the state raises questions about ownership, funding, branding or a possible Russian connection.