Ivan Rudyi is accused of supporting the operations of a Russian-owned online casino.

Ukraine.- The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has announced that it has detailed the director of Ukraine’s gambling regulator, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL). Ivan Rudyi was reportedly detained for allegedly supporting the operations of a Russian-owned online casino in the country as well as on narcotics charges.

“SBI officers detained the head of the commission on suspicion of aiding the aggressor state and the illegal possession of large quantities of narcotics without intent to sell (Articles 111-2 and 309 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code),” the SBI stated on its website.

The SBI alleges that KRAIL intentionally “refrained from revoking the licenses of an online gambling business whose ultimate owners are Russian citizens”. It added that the organisation’s representatives allegedly assisted Russia. It added that the personal data of Ukrainian military personnel who used the casino could have fallen into Russian hands.

“Despite numerous expert findings indicating that the activities of the online casino posed a threat to national security, no decision was made to revoke its license,” the statement reads. It added that the individual overseeing the casino’s operations funded veterans of Russia’s military campaign.

It said the casino in question continues to operate on Russian territory. Pretrial detention has been ordered for the beneficial owners, director, and the owner of the brand and domain name. They have been charged under Article 111-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. Meanwhile, the SBI is taking steps to transfer UAH 2.6 billion (€59.5m) in seized funds, managed by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), to the state treasury.

KRAIL was created after the legalisation of gambling in Ukraine in the year 2020. The country had banned all gambling with the exception of state-run lotteries in 2009 following a fire at a gaming hall in Dnipropetrovsk in which nine people died.

However, the future of the gambling regulator has been in question for some time. The introduction of military service in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022 made it difficult for the regulator to meet its requirement to have five of its six members present at all meetings.

Earlier this year, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, enacted National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) measures to ban gambling among members of the military. The measures were inspired by a petition launched by Pavlo Petrychenko, a commander in the 59th separate motorised infantry brigade.