A petition on the website of the President of Ukraine, in which it is required to impose sanctions on a number of companies operating in the field of gambling, either directly related to the aggressor state or working in its interests, gained more than 25,000 votes.
According to the e-petition website, the demand to “Impose sanctions on companies associated with the aggressor state and supporting Russian business in Ukraine” was published on November 22, 2022. The petition received the required number of signatures in 1.5 months. Now President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the procedure, should have no more than three months to consider this petition and make public his response to it.
The author of the petition points to the filling of the gambling market legalized in Ukraine 2 years ago either by Ukrainian companies associated with the Russian Federation, or directly by Russian companies. Among them is the infamous Russian bookmaker 1xBet, which is trying to regain its licenses to work in Ukraine through the District Administrative Court of Kyiv, as well as a number of other companies, investigators identified as “daughters” of 1xBet, operating in Ukraine.
“These are the sites PointLoto, Fansport and BetWinner, which, having licenses to operate in Ukraine, are connected in one way or another with the Russian bookmaker 1xBet, as well as the Fonbet bookmaker illegally operating in Ukraine, associated with Alexander Udodov, son-in-law of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the petition says.
Together with them, the signatories of the petition demand that Volodymyr Zelensky, as chairman of the National Security and Defense Council, impose sanctions on the Ukrainian IT holding TECHIIA and its co-founder Oleg Krot, who transferred $60 million to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, a Forbes Ukraine investigation revealed controversy and questions about this amount. In a comment by Forbes, the co-founder of the holding, Oleg Krot, could not clearly explain the holding’s income, which would allow him to make such ultra-high donations.
And in an interview with bihus.info, Oleg Krot commented on the work of the Russian bookmaker: “This is a company like many others that make money. If a company does not pay taxes in Russia, but will pay them in Ukraine, and more, what is the problem?
Also, the media confirmed the direct relationship of the TECHIIA holding with the Russian bookmaker 1xBet: the chief lawyer of TECHIIA, Roman Rodin, turned out to be the brother of Alexander Rodin, director of Your Betting Company LLC, representing 1xBet in Ukraine.
Recall that the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries submitted the list of persons involved in the work of 1xBet to the National Security and Defense Council for inclusion in the lists of sanctions.
