Parimatch LLC has officially ceased operations in Ukraine, the company said.
“The company’s operating activities have been terminated. The customer platform is unavailable, the website pm.ua has been blocked,” the company said in a press release published in its telegram channel on Sunday.
The company pointed out that it complies with Ukrainian law and Presidential Decree № 145/2023 of March 10.
In the press release, Parimatch said it is looking for ways to legally recover customer funds from its balance sheet and pay off debts under partnership contracts. The company also says it will terminate “labor relations with the company’s staff.”
As the company informs, the amount of actually paid taxes and license payments LLC “Paramatch” for 2023 is 485 million UAH. “We will wait for additional analysis and consideration of the situation around the sanctions of the CNBO against LLC Parimatch and hope for a future review of the decision,” the message of LLC “Parimatch”.
As reported, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky by decree of March 10 enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on the same day to impose sanctions on 120 individuals and 287 legal entities. Among them are Ukrainian LLC “Parimatch”, Financial Company “Leo”, “PokermatchUA”, “Your Betting Company” and “Play Fan Investment”.
From the Parimatch holding, the new sanctions also affected Parimatch United Investments Limited (UK) Fullgear Investments Ltd, Auspicia Limited (both Cyprus), Suncast Furure N.V. (Curacao, Netherlands), and Parimatch Foundation Limited (Cyprus), as well as a whole group of individuals abroad.
The presidential decree on sanctions against Parimatch LLC and a number of other companies of Parimatch holding led to the almost complete termination of its activities in Ukraine, the CEO of Parimatch holding Maxim Lyashko said at a press conference in Kiev on Saturday.
“Overnight banks started disabling the ability to withdraw client funds. About 250 million UAH of clients’ funds have been blocked, they are in the company’s current accounts,” he said, expressing confidence that players will be able to access their funds.
CEO of LLC “Parimatch”, which in Ukraine owns a license for betting and online casinos, Natalia Gilevich said that we are talking about several tens of thousands of customers.
Lyashko added that banks began to break off relations with the company in the last two or three weeks, and state banks were the first to do so.
According to him, the presidential decree on sanctions has not yet been officially published, which means it has not entered into force, so theoretically clients should be able to withdraw funds, but in fact they are blocked.
The CEO of Parimatch also noted that the company, under the terms of the license, continues to maintain the system, and players can continue to bet, but when the decree officially comes into force, the company will stop the work of the system.
Lyashko pointed out that the sanctions affected the main B2C companies in the holding, for which the Ukrainian market represented “the lion’s share. According to him, there is also a B2B direction in the holding. (In January of this year, the holding announced the launch of a new company, GR8 Tech, which will work on the B2B market and is the successor to Parimatch Tech – IF-U).
Speaking about the impact of the Ukrainian sanctions on the holding company’s operations on other markets, the CEO of Parimatch stressed that the reputational blow caused would be almost impossible to repair, but the Ukrainian sanctions do not apply to other markets and there is no broad practice of other jurisdictions adopting sanctions following Ukraine.
Lyashko once again noted that the company does not have any documents and a generally clear understanding of why sanctions were imposed on it. “The wording that all these companies have to do with Russian assets is categorically untrue,” the CEO said, recalling that relations with the Russian market were finally severed a year ago.
As for taxes, he said that last year the company paid 280 mln hryvnia in taxes due to its transition to a 2% simplified tax, whereas after the company abolished that option it paid over 400 mln hryvnia in January-February this year, and expected to pay 250-280 mln hryvnia in March and a comparable profit.
The representatives of the company said that according to the materials of the SBU the Economic Security Bureau is investigating the tax payments by “30-something” gambling market companies, among which there is “Parimatch”, but there are no decisions on it at the moment.
When asked whether any demands were made of the holding company or whether the sanctions were an attempt to clear the market, Lyashko said that “they may be inclined to something or clear it for someone”, but there was no evidence, so the company would not comment on this and would seek to lift the sanctions.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on March 10, which enacted the same day the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) to impose sanctions against 120 individuals and 287 legal entities. Among them are Ukrainian LLC “Parimatch”, Financial Company “Leo”, “PokermatchUA”, “Your Betting Company” and “Play Fan Investment”.
From the Parimatch holding, the new sanctions also affected Parimatch United Investments Limited (UK) Fullgear Investments Ltd, Auspicia Limited (both Cyprus), Suncast Furure N.V. (Curacao, Netherlands), and Parimatch Foundation Limited (Cyprus), as well as a whole group of individuals abroad.
Of the five companies in the register that received a license from the Gambling and Lottery Regulatory Commission (KRAIL) for betting activities, the decree affected three: Parimatch, Your Betting Company and Play Fan Investment. The latter two already had their licenses revoked by the CRAIL earlier – in September and December 2022, respectively. The two remaining companies in the registry are bookmaker company “Favbet” and “Vbet Ukraine”.
Light will overcome darkness. Every day of every Ukrainian begins and ends with these words. But the approaching holidays allow us to be filled with hope and dream of great things. This is an unusual year, so the gifts should be extraordinary. Christmas is a time for miracles, and we invite everyone to become real wizards.
Parimatch, jointly with the National Ukrainian fundraising platform UNITED24, supported by President Volodymyr Zelensky, has launched the Light up Christmas for Ukrainians campaign and is appealing to donors from all over the world to help raise funds for generators for Ukrainian hospitals.
The goal is to raise 500,000 euros, which is enough to purchase generators for 50 hospitals, and thus save thousands of lives. The first donation of 100,000 euros was made by Parimatch Ukraine. Being an official partner the company has already transferred UAH 74 million to UNITED24 projects.
Support the campaign and make your contribution on the official DonorBox platform
We feel and appreciate everyone’s support. We see significant things and human values as truth, honesty, love, and peace. Your help is essential and inspires us to continue our struggle for freedom!
Make a miracle! Light Up Christmas for Ukraine
Parimatch has joined the fundraising platform UNITED24. The company has already provided significant financial assistance and is now joining media support, featuring world sport stars.
By the end of the year, Parimatch plans to participate in several fundraising initiatives, as well as implement media activities with the Premier League football clubs. They will also work with UNITED24 and Parimatch ambassador, world champion boxer, Oleksandr Usyk.
“We will use all resources to ensure that European and global society, global brands and business giants join the projects launched by UNITED24. Talking about war today is everyone’s duty, especially those who can speak to a large global audience. Every vote is important, every project brings victory closer,” commented the general director of Parimatch Ukraine Nataliya Gilevych.
“The company Parimatch Ukraine has already supported the fundraising of First Lady Olena Zelenska and UNITED24 for ambulances. We are glad that this activity has transformed into systemic cooperation,” said UNITED24 coordinator, Yaroslava Gres. “It is increasingly difficult to fight for the world’s attention after almost 9 months of war, the great media opportunities that Parimatch Ukraine has will help UNITED24 to sound louder and be more effective in helping Ukraine.”
The international charitable organization Parimatch Foundation launches a new product for children as a part of its Mental Health program — therapeutic art coloring to overcome stressful situations. The project was created with the participation of the Institute of Cognitive Modeling, under the authorship and methodology of expert Victoria Nazarevich.
The children’s coloring book is based on Victoria Nazarevych’s author’s methodology. She is a practicing psychologist with 25 years of experience working with children, a professor at the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of Kyiv International University, a Candidate in Psychological Sciences, and a child psychology and art therapy expert.
A detailed set of therapeutic coloring exercises is developed and based on the principles of play therapy, which allows parents to help their child without the additional involvement of psychologists when he or she is stressed, angered, afraid or withdrawn.
The manual is based on the use of art therapy and fairy tale therapy techniques that have already proven their effectiveness in working with children who have experienced traumatic stress disorder.
— War and any changes, in general, make children feel disorder or inner chaos. Therefore, in such cases, adults should offer the child a system of internal self-regulation that will help to cope with the state when it is tough inside and the child does not understand what is happening. Art therapy is excellent in stressful situations when you need to relieve bodily tension. Therefore, when it is difficult for a child and he or she feels a burden inside, the coloring book offers several effective exercises that will help to cope with stress, — says Victoria Nazarevych.
The coloring book consists of 10 tasks, each of which helps the child to cope with different emotions and states. You can find and download free art coloring on the Parimatch Foundation website — preferably in A3 or A4 formats alongside step-by-step video instructions and advice from a qualified psychologist Victoria Nazarevych. Video guides added on the website will help to clarify conditions and emotions when a child may need a particular section of the coloring.
To work, you will need colored pencils and a little patience to accompany the child at each stage of the tasks proposed in the coloring book. Adults need to be close, supportive, and interested in the child’s impressions: what was annoying, upsetting, or, conversely, what the kid liked the most while drawing.
Art coloring will be useful for parents and guardians, teachers, educators, volunteers of children’s centers, social workers, curators of children’s programs, inclusive assistants, and teacher-defectologists. As well as for helping professionals who are in direct interaction with the child and ensure his mental, moral and physical well-being. The project complements several products that are already helping Ukrainian children not only in Ukraine but also abroad, where many families who were forced to leave the country are now.
It should be noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the international charitable organization Parimatch Foundation has been making efforts to help the children of Ukraine. One of the main areas of work is psychological support for children affected by russian aggression. Recently, the Foundation presented the first Ukrainian-language collection of children’s audio fairy tales «Secret stories of small and big victories» as a part of its Mental Health program. You can listen to the audiobook for free on the ABUK platform, in the «Audio» section of the MEGOGO application on iOS and Android smartphones, and cars with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay audio systems.
The leader of the entertainment industry Parimatch Ukraine and the sports OTT-platform Setanta Sports continue the exclusive cooperation for 3 more sports seasons until 2025. The agreement is valid on the territory of Ukraine and includes broadcasting rights for more than twenty of the most popular sports events: The English Premier League, Bundesliga, Scottish Premier League, NBA, NHL, UFC, ATP, WTA, Wimbledon, Formula 1, Belgian Super League, FA Cup, Euroleagues, Eredivisie etc.
“Parimatch is developing on the wavelength of global trends and innovations — the latest technological solutions find implementation in our product on the platform. Together with Setanta Sports, we will use the potential of two platforms and create a single ecosystem of sports fans. After all, the combination of sports content, betting and entertainment creates an exciting experience for users,” – Parimatch Ukraine CEO Nataliya Hilevich commented.
“Setanta Sports is an international brand, and therefore it is important for us to have relations with large and reliable partners in the market. The continuation of this agreement was also important for us, because we had long negotiations and finally, we reached an agreement, which means cooperation with Parimatch for another 3 years. Within this partnership, a lot of interesting projects will be implemented for both Setanta Sports and Parimatch customers, in order to make the experience of sports fans even more interactive and exciting,” – Tamara Badashvili, Deputy CEO of Setanta Sports.
setantasports.com is the first sports OTT platform on the Ukrainian market that works on a subscription model.
