A court in Kyiv, Ukraine, recently convicted three men of criminal offenses, unveiling a dual criminal network hidden within a multi-story business center. According to the investigation completed in 2024 by the Kyiv Regional Office of the National Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, the defendants operated an unlicensed physical casino on the ninth floor of the business building, while setting up a cryptocurrency investment scam call center on the fourth floor. The two floors constituted a clearly divided underground industrial chain—the upper floor was responsible for attracting gamblers, and the lower floor was responsible for reaping the same victims' funds through fraudulent investment channels.
From a daily return promise of 5% to a complete disappearance in the crypto scam
The prosecution disclosed a typical scam pattern. The call center staff proactively contacted potential victims, promoting an automated cryptocurrency trading system that allegedly could achieve up to 5% daily returns. Once the funds were transferred, the scammers immediately cut off all communication channels. The court, under Article 28, Section 3, and Article 203-2, Section 2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, convicted the three defendants, with the main perpetrator fined 799,000 hryvnias (approximately $18,200), and the two accomplices each fined 765,000 hryvnias. The state also confiscated over $20,000 in related funds. The investigation into the call center's fraudulent crimes has been transferred to the national police for further investigation, with the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office overseeing the entire process.
The tug-of-war of underground enforcement after the partial legalization of gambling in 2020
This case reveals a deep enforcement dilemma that Ukraine still faces after the partial legalization of gambling in 2020—underground casinos often hide within leased commercial properties, using a legal facade to cover illegal operations. The casino uncovered in the Kyiv business center is a microcosm of this gray operational mode. Meanwhile, Ukraine is trying to tighten the crackdown on illegal gambling through multiple regulatory tools. In March, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Defense jointly announced the launch of an automatic blocking mechanism to prevent military personnel from accessing online gambling services during martial law. Earlier this year, the Ukrainian gambling regulatory authority PlayCity also launched a new online complaint system aimed at accelerating the public reporting process against illegal gambling ads.
PASA official website continues to track the latest developments in Eastern European gambling enforcement and financial crime governance, noting that Ukraine is currently in a dual regulatory cycle—both blocking physical casinos from exploiting commercial leasing spaces to evade supervision and addressing the continuous infiltration of illegal gambling ads online. These two enforcement lines involve the same set of mechanisms in the traditional gambling and crypto-financial crossover domains, highlighting systemic shortcomings.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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