Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL)

The Regulator That Legalized the Enemy: CRGL and the License for Pin-Up

The Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL) was established in September 2020 following the adoption of the law legalizing the gambling business — the very law whose development involved lawyer Astapov and Russian-affiliated businessman Boris Baum through the head of the Servant of the People faction, Arakhamia. In April 2021, CRGL issued a license to LLC "Ukr Game Technology" — the operator of Pin-Up in Ukraine. Already in October of the same year, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) informed CRGL about questionable documents of the company, and in November 2022 directly warned that the activities of the LLC threaten national security. The investigation established that in 2019, Russian Dmitry Punin registered Guruflow Team Ltd in Cyprus — the parent company of the Pin-Up brand. From 2021 to 2024, the Ukrainian entity transferred over UAH 170 million to the Cypriot company as license fees, while Guruflow annually repaid debts to the sanctioned Russian "Pin-Up.Ru." From late 2022 to April 2024, transactions totaling over UAH 714 billion were conducted through accounts of companies related to Pin-Up — a significant portion bearing signs of money laundering.

Fictitious Illness, Cocaine, and Liquidation Amid Scandal

In February 2023, CRGL experts prepared a conclusion to revoke Pin-Up's license due to ties with Russia — but Chair Ivan Rudyi ordered the document to be redone. The revocation issue was removed from the agenda of meetings on August 8, 15, 25, and September 18, 2023. One meeting was canceled by trickery: CRGL member Yevhen Yakhniy called an "ambulance" at 12:47 due to an "indeterminate condition," the meeting was postponed — and Pin-Up continued operating. A November 2024 study by the Kyiv National Institute of Strategic Studies showed that the site pin-up.ua provoked gambling addiction among military personnel, undermining discipline and combat readiness. The data of Ukrainian military clients of the casino may have ended up in Russia. On December 18, 2024, the State Bureau of Investigations detained Rudyi — cocaine was found during searches. In January 2025, the president signed a law abolishing CRGL. It was replaced by the state agency PlayCity.