Ukraine’s state gambling regulator, PlayCity, has cancelled the operating licence of Favbet Game Slots following a major compliance investigation. The regulator also imposed a UAH 933m ($21.17m) fine on the operator.
According to PlayCity, a scheduled inspection uncovered widespread breaches of technical regulations governing gaming machine operations.
Authorities identified 108 gaming machines that had not undergone mandatory certification, raising concerns that they were operating outside Ukraine’s legal and regulatory framework.
PlayCity said the absence of valid technical inspections meant the equipment could not be verified for fairness or compliance with state standards.
This week, PlayCity also revoked the online casino licence held by Cosmolot operator Spaceix after identifying breaches linked to payment processing.
According to statements attributed to acting Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov, the regulator found that the operator accepted peer-to-peer (P2P) card transfers instead of using transparent payment details.
PlayCity imposed two separate fines on Spaceix totalling almost UAH 13m. The regulator said UAH 8.6m related to the use of P2P payments, while a further UAH 4.3m was linked to the ability to top up accounts using cards belonging to third parties.
Authorities are stepping up enforcement efforts as the first phase of the State Online Monitoring System for gambling has been launched in a test environment.
The platform aims to ensure tax authorities have access to primary transaction records used to calculate gross gaming revenue and apply relevant taxes.
PlayCity has also begun cooperation with YouTube to block illegal gambling advertising.
Last week, PlayCity fined FC Shakhtar more than UAH 5m for gambling advertising breaches.
