The PlayCity agency, which regulates the gambling industry, has revoked the license of the PIN-UP online casino, whose activities are linked to the Russian Federation. The company’s website is unavailable.
The PlayCity agency, which regulates the gambling industry, has revoked the license of the PIN-UP online casino, whose activities are linked to the Russian Federation. The company’s website is unavailable.
«The first results of PlayCity’s work — PIN-UP was deprived of its license. Eradicating casinos with a Russian footprint is one of PlayCity’s priority tasks,» the Ministry of Digital Transformation said in a statement.
Before the launch of the state agency, decisions on issuing licenses were made by a person. «This was one of the most corrupt stages in the gambling industry. PlayCity automates the process to eliminate the human factor and make the industry transparent and controllable,» the Ministry of Digital Affairs notes.
Recall that the Prosecutor General’s Office has reported suspicions to individuals who are beneficial owners of an illegal online casino, as well as two Ukrainians — the director and the owner of the trademark and domain. They are accused of collecting information, in particular, information about the whereabouts of the military Defense Forces.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 344/2025, which put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated May 25, 2025 «On the Application of Personal Special Economic and Other Restrictive Measures» against the owner of Pin-Up Dmytro Punin.
In January, SBI officers detained the nominal owner of PIN-UP, Igor Zotko. It is alleged that he spent a long time in Cyprus, where he was in contact with the real Russian owners of PIN-UP.
Later, the State Bureau of Investigation detained the director of PIN-UP. He was informed of suspicion of aiding the aggressor state. The State Bureau noted that PIN-UP’s ties with representatives of the Russian Federation and entities subject to sanctions in Ukraine were documented.
Meanwhile, Ivan Rudoy, the head of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, is suspected of aiding the Russian Federation. Information that he was detained by law enforcement officers appeared on December 19, 2024. The term of his arrest expired on May 26.
In early December 2024, the Verkhovna Rada voted unanimously in favor of bill No. 9256-d, which provides for the liquidation of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAL). However, even earlier in April 2024, reacting to information about the liquidation of the agency, the head of KRAL, Ivan Rudy, stated that he did not see any logic in this decision and considered it a hook «under the guise of «rescuing gambling addicts in the Armed Forces of Ukraine», «to restore order in the lottery business». On March 21, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to create the state agency «PlayCity», which will implement state policy in the field of organizing and conducting gambling and the lottery sector.
It was previously reported that the financial company that owns the online casino Pin-Up earns millions from commissions from public services. How this happened: we gave the versions of all participants in the events.
At the same time, at the end of 2023, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries did not confirm information about the presence of Russian control over the activities of LLC «Ukr Game Technology» (PIN-UP brand). And this despite the fact that shortly before that, KRAIL was going to apply sanctions to Pin-Up.
