The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of Ukraine initiated criminal proceedings against the owner of the PIN-UP Ukraine operator (Ukr Game Technology LLC), Ihor Zotko, on charges of high treason and aiding and abetting Russia. It entailed freezing of the company’s accounts and complete suspension of its operations.

The accusations are based on license payments that Ukr Game Technology LLC (Brand PIN-UP.UA) transferred to PIN-UP Global (GuruFlow Team LTD), an international iGaming holding company registered in a European jurisdiction.

Marina Ilina, CEO of PIN-UP Global, strongly denies the accusations, stating that these are legitimate payments under the software license agreement. She emphasizes that GuruFlow Team LTD has transparent operations, is licensed in Europe and has no financial transactions with Russia.

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“These accusations do not stand up to criticism. I am a Ukrainian and openly support my country. All the activities of my company are transparent and can be easily verified. We have no financial transfers to Russia, but only legitimate business operations. The case against Ukr Game Technology LLC may create a dangerous precedent in which standard commercial operations, such as royalty payments to international companies, are equated with a crime,” Ilina said.

According to her, the mere fact of the investigation led by the SBI raises serious concerns and looks like an element of pressure, since, according to the legislation, cases of high treason are in the competence of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), not the SBI.

Ilina believes that the development of the situation around Ukr Game Technology LLC may affect the international business perception of the investment climate in Ukraine and create risks for operation of foreign iGaming companies in the country.

Stake’s statement on its decision to end its white label activities in the UK market:

“Stake has made a strategic decision in mutual agreement with TGP Europe to exit white-label agreements and focus on securing local licenses through our in-house platform and operations, building upon our growth in key regulated markets such as our recent expansions into Italy and Brazil.” – Stake spokesperson.

The Spanish gaming regulator (DGOJ), in collaboration with the Public Treasury and the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences (Sepblac), has held the first Sectoral Conference on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing with online gaming operators.

The meeting, which took place at the headquarters of the DGOJ on February 6, brought together representatives of authorised online gaming operators and regulatory and supervisory bodies to address current challenges in the prevention of money laundering, related to the area of regulatory compliance and the main risks of the activity.

The meeting was inaugurated by Mr. Mikel Arana, Director General of Gaming Regulation, together with Ms. Irene Sánchez Pérez, advisory member of the Public Treasury.

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Arana then moderated the various presentations in which leading experts from Sepblac, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Supervisory Authority for the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Public Treasury analysed the latest regulatory developments and sanctions at European and international level, presented the main findings in inspections of operators and spoke about the role of financial intelligence in the prevention and detection of risky operations, among other topics.

This was followed by a round table discussion, attended by experts such as Alberto Navarro, deputy assistant director of inspection at the DGOJ, and representatives of Sepblac and the Public Treasury, where the questions and doubts raised by online gaming operators were resolved.