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A new group made up of licensed gambling companies in Ukraine is working on special software to find and report illegal online casinos. These illegal sites often pretend to be local but are secretly run from outside the country, especially from Russia.
The Goal: Stop Unlicensed Gambling
This group of Ukrainian gambling operators includes companies that employ over 900 IT experts. Their main aim is to help Ukraine fight back against unlicensed gambling websites. They plan to support the new government body called PlayCity and also work with Ukraine’s security agency, the SBU.
The group said they are building new software tools to track down online casinos that break the rules. These tools will help find websites that are not licensed in Ukraine and are managed from abroad. Many of these illegal platforms try to look like local Ukrainian businesses, but they are not.
Over 50 Illegal Gambling Sites Still Running
According to the group, there are currently more than 50 online casinos operating in Ukraine without a proper license. These sites often avoid taxes and may even be connected to foreign threats.
“Many of these websites act like they are based in Ukraine, but in truth, they are controlled by companies in Russia,” the association shared in a recent statement.
This creates serious risks. Not only are players at risk of being cheated, but the country also loses out on taxes. Worse still, some of these platforms may be linked to countries that are not friendly with Ukraine.
New Regulator: PlayCity Replaces KRAIL
This action comes just months after big changes in Ukraine’s gambling laws. On March 21, the government started a new agency called PlayCity. It now oversees gambling regulation, replacing the older body called KRAIL, which stopped working on April 1, 2025.
Gennadiy Novikov, who used to work as the deputy chief of staff at KRAIL, is now the head of PlayCity. Since then, the agency has already taken serious steps to clean up the gambling space.
One big move was cancelling the license of PIN-UP Casino. It was discovered that three of its founders were Russian citizens, while the fourth was Ukrainian. This raised red flags about the company’s trustworthiness and safety.
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