Law enforcement has dismantled an organized crime group that ran illegal online casinos under the names “Dragons Gold,” “Slotoland,” and “Rino.” The investigation revealed that the operation processed over 141 million hryvnias over a span of nearly four years.

Investigators discovered that the group operated without the necessary licenses and evaded tax payments. Over 58 million hryvnias flowed through bank accounts set up for accepting bets, in addition to 1.84 million USDT being deposited into cryptocurrency wallets related to the operation. One of the individuals implicated in this operation is identified as a practicing attorney.

During the investigation, authorities conducted ten searches and have notified five suspects of the charges against them. The organizer of the scheme is now in pretrial detention, with bail set at approximately 5 million UAH. In related news, the Ukrainian State Agency PlayCity has begun proceedings to revoke the licenses of the online casino Betking, which is linked to SLOTS U.A. LLC.

The agency also decided to strip licenses from two other gambling operators after uncovering connections to an aggressor country, leading to the brands Favbet Casino/Favbet Poker and Billionaire effectively exiting the Ukrainian market.