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PlayCity has revoked Cosmolot’s licence and fined the casino 12.9 million hryvnias

Katerina Melnychenko
Katerina Melnychenko Deputy Editor-in-Chief
PlayCity has revoked Cosmolot’s licence and fined the casino 12.9 million hryvnias
PlayCity has revoked Cosmolot’s licence due to breaches of financial regulations
The state agency PlayCity has revoked the licence of the online casino Cosmolot, which operates through Spacix LLC. During an inspection, the regulator identified breaches of financial transaction rules – the company was using peer-to-peer payments and allowing accounts to be topped up using third-party cards.

This was announced by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the state agency PlayCity.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation stated that PlayCity had revoked the licence of Cosmolot – Spaceix LLC. The basis for this decision was violations identified during an inspection. According to the regulator, the company used P2P payments and allowed accounts to be topped up using third-party bank cards. It was these violations that formed the basis for the licence revocation.

In addition to revoking the licence, PlayCity imposed two separate fines on Cosmolot. The first was 8.6 million UAH for the use of peer-to-peer payments. The second was 4.3 million UAH for accepting funds from third-party bank cards. In total, the fines amounted to 12.9 million UAH.

PlayCity Chairman Gennadiy Novikov stated that a gambling licence requires compliance with statutory requirements, and the regulator’s task is to ensure constant and transparent oversight of licence holders so that the market operates under uniform rules for all participants. The Ministry of Digital Transformation also emphasised that PlayCity monitors the activities of each company within the powers defined by law, and if operators ignore the requirements, fines are imposed on them, and for significant violations, their licences are revoked.

What is known about PlayCity

PlayCity was established to replace the CRAIL – the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries. The Ministry of Digital Transformation explicitly stated that the new agency was launched to make the gambling and lottery market transparent and controllable, and described the CRAIL itself as an ineffective regulator. Gennadiy Novikov was appointed head of the agency.

In April 2026, PlayCity also launched the State Online Monitoring System into trial operation. The government explained that this system allows the state, for the first time, to receive real-time data on the gambling market, view bets, payouts and refunds without delay, and respond more promptly to violations.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation previously reported that PlayCity issues licences, monitors compliance with the law, implements digital tools, and fines and blocks offenders. The ministry described this as part of an annual reform of the gambling industry aimed at combating illegal casinos, corruption and gambling addiction.

Background to the reform

In December 2024, the State Bureau of Investigations detained Ivan Rudyi, head of the CRAIL. The SBI stated that he was suspected of supporting the operations in Ukraine of online casinos owned by Russians, as well as of the illegal possession of large quantities of narcotics. It was following this scandal that the issue of overhauling state regulation of the gambling market gained new momentum.

The report also notes that PlayCity had previously begun imposing penalties on other market participants. This is presented as part of the new regulator’s broader policy of stricter control over licence holders, gambling advertising and compliance with financial regulations.

As reported by ThePublic, PlayCity blocked over 2,500 illegal online casinos in a year

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