Online casino Pin-Up continues to operate and earn money in Ukraine, despite a number of publications about the connections of the owners who, through a Cypriot company, have…

The Pin-Up online casino continues to operate and earn money in Ukraine, despite a number of publications about the connections of the owners who, through a Cypriot company, have connections with the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian market is freed from Russian companies, and Pin-Up is not included in this list. According to the Gambling and Lotteries Regulatory Commission, they remain on the list of 16 companies that can legally make money from online gambling.

Why online casino Pin-Up is surrounded by scandals

Ukr Game Technology officially received a license for gambling under the Pin-Up brand. The company appeared shortly before the opening of the gambling business in Ukraine - in 2021. However, the Pin-Up casino is not only UKR GAME TECHNOLOGY LLC, it is also Tranitadevelopment LLC, which even before January 10, 2023 was called Pin-Up LLC, and its owner was Marina Ilyina. She commented on behalf of Pin-Up.

Ukrainian Ilyina, the owner of Pin-Up, moved to Moscow to her husband, Russian Dmitry Punin. This statement is supported by the fact that the couple owns Guruflow Team Ltd. In Russia, Pin-Up started working before it launched in Ukraine. That is, in fact, the company originated from Russia, but subsequently extended the franchise to Ukraine. Officially, Ukrgame Technology is owned by Yaroslav Fomitsky.

Money from Ukrainian casino users ends up in the Russian Federation

In April 2022, after investigations about Marina Ilyin, Pin-Up was registered as Bogdan Shiyan, and the company was renamed Tranitadevelopment. Shiyan is registered in the city of Lebedin, Sumy region (population less than 30 thousand people). In the Lebedinsky District Court there are several cases mentioning the full namesake of the official owner of the renamed Pin-Apu. So the local electricity supplier sued him over a utility debt; in addition, he was accused in court of violating public order. He was also sued by PrivatBank over a loan of UAH 11,875. That is, a person who supposedly earns millions from a casino did not have the money to pay for utilities and repay a small loan.

In fact, the owners of the casino did not change, but used the documents as a dummy. And if Pin-Up really hides the official owners, the question remains whether the money earned goes to Marina Ilyina and her Russian husband, who until recently officially owned the Ukrainian casino. That is, the casino received a license for PIN-UP in Ukraine with Russian owners at the beginning of the legalization of gambling.

In Ukraine, the legal entity of PIN-UP is PIN-UP LLC, whose beneficiary is the same Marina Ilyina, who has a share of 25% of the Cypriot Guruflow. Despite these facts, for now, all companies associated with the Russian footprint are being forced out of the Ukrainian casino market. Pin-Up claims that it no longer has ties to the Russian market. Allegedly, the franchise actually operated on the territory of the aggressor, but now it has been transferred to the Russians, but there is no official message about the withdrawal from Russia.

By the way, in the YouControl analytical system you can find data on the court hearing in the Svyatoshinsky District Court of Kyiv, which took place in the fall of 2021. the investigation suspects PIN-UP of organizing a network of illegal gambling establishments on the Internet, with the subsequent withdrawal of funds abroad. Let us remind you that the law on the legalization of gambling was adopted only on July 14, 2020, and signed by President Vladimir Zelensky in August. By that time, online betting was formally considered an illegal business, not to mention the transfer of money abroad.

The company is investing colossal budgets into the brand. It would be better if they helped our army with such ardor, but they are working to finance the budget of the occupiers during the war, so the inaction of their owners is quite obvious.