Russia’s biggest illegal online casino, Azino777, operates out of Ukraine and has managed some of its money flows through a Ukrainian branch of Russia’s bank Sberbank, Russian business media outlet The Bell reported on Feb. 4, referring to decisions by a Ukrainian court.
The Bell journalists found a mistake in a document of Kyiv Holosiivskyi District Court — which failed to redact the name of the owner of Azino777, 33-year-old tech worker from Russia, Albert Valiakhmetov. Using his name, they managed to uncover some of the activities of the huge underground gambling organisation.
Gambling is illegal in both Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, Azino777 manages to get around the laws and has become the biggest casino in terms of the overall value of bets made per year, estimated at $230,000. It’s also the biggest advertiser in the Russian-speaking segment of the internet, according to Russian media RBK and research firm Mediascope. The Azino777 ads pop up on pirate streaming websites, and star famous Russian rappers.
According to the Ukrainian court papers, Valiakhmetov ran his underground casino through a legal entity in Ukraine named Royal Game. Working on the market under the brand Orion Lab, Royal Game hired 15 people – designers, developers, marketing specialists – who worked from an office in central Kyiv, according to Ukrainian online tech journal AIN.ua.
In 2015, the brand Orion Lab disappeared as Royal Game allegedly switched to another unknown brand name and continued its activities.
In June 2018, Ukraine’s law enforcement searched the Kyiv office of Royal Game while investigating gambling-related crime, as well as a car owned by one of the employees. They found out that Russians and Ukrainians had been running the online casino in Kyiv since 2014.
The police confiscated computers, mobile phones and memory sticks with files allegedly connected to Azino777’s activities. It’s unknown if the police arrested anyone, but the case is currently based on the investigation of the equipment, with the latest court decision made in December to permit Ukrainian investigators to scrutinize the equipment. According to the YouControl online company database, Royal Game is still working.
Meanwhile, Russia has forbidden banks to carry out transactions with legal entities connected to Azino777.
Online casino owner Valiakhmetov lived in the Russian city of Naberezhnye Chelny. According to The Bell, he stated travelling to Kazan and Kyiv back in 2013. At the time, he deleted all his profiles on social media. In 2014 he opened up Royal Game in Ukraine and linked a bank account at the Ukrainian branch of Russia’s Sberbank to it. He used the account to handle some of the money earned by the casino.
The Kyiv Post’s technology coverage is sponsored by Ciklum and NIX Solutions. The content is independent of the donors.
