Ukraine blocks 133 illegal gambling sites, most with ties to Russia

• Gambling regulator and security services move against illegal gambling sites in Ukraine
• The majority of the newly-blocked 133 websites have some ties to Russia
• AUGO’s boss argues that illegal gambling sites will eventually be driven out of the country

Since the dissolution of KRAIL and the introduction of PlayCity, the new regulator, Ukraine has doubled down on its efforts to uproot illegal gambling in the country. The main concern is that many Russia-tied domains are raising money and indirectly contributing to the country’s war against its embattled neighbor.

Ukraine moves in force against illegal gambling operators

To help with this, Oleksandr Kohut, who is the president of the Association of Ukrainian Gambling Operators (AUGO), has been working with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and other relevant watchdogs and parties to clamp down on such domains.

The latest enforcement action saw more than 133 illegal gambling websites blocked, many of which are believed to be directly tied to Russia. ISPs have complied with an order to block the IP addresses of these websites, rendering them inaccessible from Ukrainian territory.

According to AUGO, the websites generated anything between UAH3bn and UAH5bn every quarter and have been actively plowing these funds back home in Russia.

Kohut said that the game of cat-and-mouse against the illegal gambling sector was a difficult one, but one that carried on.

He assured that his organization was committed to helping the new regulator and the SBU to flag and eliminate any threat tied to an illegal gambling domain that is trying to fund Russia’s war against his country.

As to the future, Kohut is confident that in the future, illegal operators will be driven up against a corner and left with no choice but to stop targeting Ukrainians.

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