Ukraine: Kyiv Premier Palace Casino wins appeal against PlayCity

The Premier Palace Hotel, which was once home to one of Kyiv’s most renowned casinos, has won a legal victory over gambling regulator PlayCity. Nevertheless, the casino remains closed due to bankruptcy proceedings.

Ukraine’s Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals overturned PlayCity’s decision to deny the hotel a new gambling-premises permit and to terminate two permits issued in 2021.

The regulator is rumoured to disagree with the ruling and is allegedly preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The case stretches back to October 2025, when Premier Palace Hotel applied for a permit confirming its premises met the requirements to operate a casino. The premises were subsequently expected to be leased to another company which would operate it.

However, in December, PlayCity refused to issue the new permit and also terminated permits issued in 2021.

The regulator cited the hotel's ownership structure as one reason; apparently, some of the owners were subject to personal sanctions under a decision of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.

The court of first instance had previously ruled in favour of PlayCity, but the appeals court reached a different conclusion. The panel of judges held that sanctions are personal in nature: they had been imposed on specific individuals and a related company, rather than directly on Premier Palace Hotel as a separate legal entity.

The court also noted that the permits concern the premises themselves and found no grounds to terminate the permits issued in 2021, as the regulator had not shown that the premises no longer met the requirements.

The court case is separate from Premier Palace Casino’s bankruptcy proceedings, the casino entered liquidation in April 2026, amid more than UAH 380m ($8.4m) in creditor claims.

PlayCity is among the largest creditors, with claims exceeding UAH 152m. As a result, the hotel’s court victory does not mean the casino will automatically resume operations.