The decision to impose sanctions on the Parimatch betting company.

Why can’t I play the game Aviator on the Parimatch team?

Recently, betting companies have become the subject of increased attention from various government agencies that are trying to regulate the activities of these companies and prevent possible violations of the law. One of these companies: Parimatch – was sanctioned by some countries, which led to significant losses for the company and its customers. The reasons for imposing sanctions may vary depending on the country that made the decision.

One of the most common origins of sanctions is the violation of gambling laws and the ban on online gambling. In this case, betting companies must comply with the laws of the country in which they operate and take into account the requirements of gambling regulators.

For example, if the law in the country where Parimatch operates prohibits gambling, the company must ensure that its activities do not violate the law and ensure proper control over sports bets that are accepted. On the other hand, the company may be subject to sanctions due to its relations with customers who place bets from countries where this is prohibited. In this case, Parimatch may be accused of facilitating violations of the law and illegal activities.

The imposition of sanctions on Parimatch could have serious consequences for the company and its customers, including a reduction in tax payments to the budget.

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The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has imposed sanctions against Parimatch, Russian legal entities and individuals associated with the gambling business.

In early March 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against the bookmaker Parimatch, as well as against 287 legal entities and 120 individuals whose activities are related to the gambling industry. The relevant Decree No. 145/2023 was officially published on the website of the President’s Office on March 10.

Let’s take a closer look at what these sanctions are and what exactly they entail.

The sanctions mostly affected Russian citizens. To a lesser extent, citizens of other countries: Armenia, Great Britain, Turkey, Cyprus, etc. The sanctions are valid for exactly 50 years from the date of their introduction. The legal entities on the sanctions list are also mostly Russian companies:

• “Sportbet
• “Matchbet
• “Marathon”
• “Betsity and others.
• «Parimatch»

LINK TO THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION: https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1452023-46085

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What does the Parimatch bookmaker say?

According to the bookmaker’s representatives, the company left the Russian market from the very beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and over the two years of its official operation in Ukraine, it paid about UAH 850 million in taxes and other payments to the budget. Parimatch noted that the use of the brand name is prohibited in Russia, as well as any other presence of the bookmaker in the aggressor country. In addition, Parimatch emphasized that during the full-scale war, the company is actively helping the Ukrainian army financially and has already provided assistance worth more than UAH 500 million.

At the time of writing, pm.ua is down. The visitor receives an error message and cannot interact with the page in any way. Accordingly, it is impossible to withdraw funds from the account.

According to Parimatch CEO Maksym Lyashko, about 250 million hryvnias are currently blocked on the company’s accounts. He also noted that clients will get their money back one way or another, but Maksym Lyashko has not yet provided more precise information on this issue.

What is the reason for the sanctions against Parimatch, other companies and individuals?

Shortly before that, the Bureau of Economic Security reported the problem of gambling business tax evasion. According to the BES staff, between 10 and 15 billion hryvnias are circulated in the shadow economy in Ukraine every month. In addition, some representatives of the gambling business are suspected of incomplete tax payments.

According to Yuriy Gaidai, senior economist at the Center for Economic Strategy, casinos and betting shops paid in 2022:

almost UAH 1.2 billion in license fees;
UAH 80 million in income tax;
UAH 0 of income tax.
In other words, the gambling business does not pay income tax at all. However, Gaidai also noted that some of these payments were simply transferred to other items, which is why such confusion arises. For this reason, it can be concluded that the state is currently unable to objectively assess the real revenues of the gambling business. And the figures of 10-15 billion in shadow turnover are rather just assumptions that can be neither confirmed nor denied at the moment.

Anyway, the sanctions have already been implemented. We will see how the situation develops in the future.

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