The Ukrainian gambling regulator, PlayCity, has revoked the license of the Cosmolot online casino operator Spaceiks.
The regulator said it carried out an on-site inspection that revealed irregularities in the operator’s financial transactions.
In an official release, PlayCity said the inspection found evidence of abnormal payment transactions. The operator reportedly allowed customers to use peer-to-peer payment services.
Spaceiks reportedly also allowed users to top up their gaming accounts with third-party bank cards. Both constitute violations of Ukrainian law.
The regulator also fined Spaceiks almost $300,000.
Over two-thirds of this amount was for p2p payment violations, with the remainder dished out for third-party bank card violations.
Ukrainian Gambling Regulator Making Comprehensive Checks
The development comes less than a month after PlayCity revoked the operating permit of the betting firm Patriot Lottery.
PlayCity granted Patriot a permit in January this year. But after what it called a “comprehensive check” of the company and its connections, the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation and the regulator determined that Patriot was “non-compliant with legislative requirements.”
Spaceiks, meanwhile, was the first gambling firm to be granted an operating license under the terms of the country’s 2020 Gambling Act.
PlayCity’s predecessor, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, granted the firm a five-year online casino license in early 2021.
Spaceiks paid a UAH $39 million license fee at the time, currently worth over $885,000.
“Gambling license [permit holders] must work in accordance with the requirements established by law,” said Gennady Novikov, head of PlayCity. “Our job is to ensure constant and transparent supervision of licensees. We must ensure the market operates according to uniform rules for all participants.”
Regulatory Amendments Incoming
The government is poised to back the regulator with a range of as-yet-undisclosed legislative changes.
Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Acting Minister of Digital Transformation, said his ministry has drafted amendments to the country’s gambling laws.
“The amendments […] will help us develop more effective controls over the [Ukrainian betting] sector,” Oleksandr said.
Bornyakov added: “The goal of these amendments is to further strengthen regulation [for bettors]. We also intend to strengthen the requirements for monitoring gambling operators.”
In December last year, PlayCity said it had blocked access to more than 2,500 online casinos.
The regulator, which launched just over a year ago, also said it had received over $33 million worth of license fees from permit-holding gambling operators.
Earlier this year, PlayCity said it would prioritize security for the state and citizens, and bolster the “transparency and accountability of gambling sector businesses.”
