Police Close About 5,300 Gambling Establishments. Parimatch and Favorit Sport Not Working
Although Favorit denies that its activity is illegal.
Ukrainian police have shut down operations of nearly 5,300 gambling establishments and seized equipment worth UAH 50 million. This is reported by the police press service.
Pursuant to a Cabinet of Ministers resolution and an instruction from Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, the National Police carried out large-scale comprehensive operations to identify and counter illegal gambling business. The head of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police said that “there are currently 715 mobile groups operating”.
These mobile groups work with local government bodies and employees of the State Fiscal Service to identify illegal gambling establishments.
“The state had a total of about 5,300 illegal gambling establishments, including lotteries, which as of today, under a Cabinet of Ministers resolution, have lost the ability to operate within the legal framework. Bookmakers, casinos and other gambling establishments are also mentioned.”
Since last night, 179 establishments have been identified and their activities halted. In addition, 2.3 thousand units of computer equipment were seized, as well as equipment worth about UAH 50 million.
Meanwhile, FAVBET, which operates in Ukraine under the Favorit Sport brand, categorically rejects all claims that its operations in the country are illegal. The company said it works under an agreement with the Ukrainian National Lottery, which holds a license issued in 2002.
The company's statement reads: “We support the process of legalizing the gambling industry in the country and standardizing it in line with European norms”. The company added that the current situation in Ukraine stems from executive and law enforcement authorities being unable to distinguish between bookmaking and illegal slot machine halls.
The National Police of Ukraine is only authorized to close gambling establishments, not online betting sites. Nevertheless, the Parimatch and Favorit websites are not working. A cyberattack on the companies' servers may have occurred. Some sources say that the companies can no longer legally advertise their activities, at least until they obtain new licenses.
Earlier it became known that Servant of the People has moved into the gambling business, starting with lotteries.
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