Ukraine’s PlayCity hit Gorilla casino with three fines, but the amounts still trail its reported revenue

Ukrainian outlet Telegraf says the regulator PlayCity has fined online casino Gorilla three times since the operator was registered in August 2024, while the company’s net revenue for the first half of 2026 was about 904 million hryvnias (about $22 million). For high-risk PSPs, the useful bit is simple: a regulator can keep escalating enforcement without necessarily making the economics of non-compliance painful.

1. According to Telegraf, PlayCity’s sanctions against Gorilla have included 400,000 hryvnias in October 2025 for delayed responses during a financial monitoring inspection, about 4.3 million hryvnias in June 2026 for late payment of a license fee and allowing a person from the gambling addicts register to play, and 432,000 hryvnias in September 2026 for using unlicensed software from foreign providers.
2. The operator is GORILLABET LLC, registered in August 2024. Telegraf says the company is challenging the last two decisions in the Kyiv District Administrative Court, which matters because the appeal path often decides whether a fine is a cost of doing business or an actual operational constraint.
3. Telegraf cites YouControl data showing that GORILLABET’s net revenue for the first half of 2026 was about 904 million hryvnias, or about $22 million. Against that backdrop, the publication argues the fines are too small relative to the operator’s income to push real compliance changes.
4. The outlet also says journalists found Gorilla ads on Facebook promising free spins and bonuses without wagering. Under Ukraine’s Law “On Advertising,” mentioning bonuses outside an operator’s gambling website is prohibited, and the penalty is 600 minimum wages, or about 4.8 million hryvnias.
5. Telegraf links to reporting by StopCor and journalist Yevhenii Plynskyi, who alleged technical similarities between Gorilla’s code and sanctioned Parimatch. The outlet also says the company’s director appears in SBU materials concerning alleged fictitious employee reservation from mobilization.

There is also a governance angle here. In August, PlayCity head Hennadii Novikov resigned, with Serhii Tomashuk taking over his duties. In September, the Cabinet of Ministers placed the agency directly under the prime minister; before that, it was overseen by the Ministry of Digital Transformation. For operators and PSPs, that kind of supervisory shuffle usually matters as much as the headline fines.