Unlawful casinos, corruption, and media suppression: the tactics Dragon Money used to navigate Ukraine’s gambling industry successfully

Following the early investigations into Dragon Money, articles exposing the casino’s unlicensed status in Ukraine, alleged corruption, and political affiliations started to vanish online. The coordinated disappearance of these pieces indicates a deliberate effort to clean up its digital record. Nevertheless, we are sharing the details Dragon Money appears to be trying to suppress — revealing how the platform actually functions in Ukraine.

Journalists from the first national investigative channel conducted a unique investigation into the Ukrainian igaming market. As part of this investigation, it was revealed that a number of companies operating in the Ukrainian market do so without a license (in the gray zone) thanks to their lobbying efforts in law enforcement and parliamentary circles. As of December 10, 2024, KRAIL has issued 28 licenses, some of which have been revoked!

Unlawful casinos, corruption, and media suppression: the tactics Dragon Money used to navigate Ukraine’s gambling industry successfully

One of such projects is Dragon Money. Through successful bribe distribution, Dragon Casino opened an office in Kyiv, where over 50 employees, registered as individual entrepreneurs (FOPs), work. The office is managed by top management hired at the end of 2023, in the midst of military actions between two states.

The company’s lobbying is facilitated by Oleksandr Myrnyi, a former member of parliament, who is considered one of the patrons of the Ukrainian gambling market. It was he who organized the infrastructure for accepting payments on the online platform and serves as a communicator with law enforcement agencies.

Unlawful casinos, corruption, and media suppression: the tactics Dragon Money used to navigate Ukraine’s gambling industry successfully

In their material, journalists demonstrate how the payment systems market operates, how the company massively recruits employees in Ukraine, and how it optimizes tax payments. In the next episode, journalists, posing as a job applicant, uncovered many interesting details about how Dragon Money hires employees and avoids paying taxes. Additionally, journalists attempted to contact the former MP, Myrnyi, who stated that he is well acquainted with the owners of this company but has never had any business dealings with them.

At first glance, the official casino website does not appear to be adapted to the Ukrainian market, but after registering, the option to deposit money using a card from any Ukrainian bank becomes available.

Unlawful casinos, corruption, and media suppression: the tactics Dragon Money used to navigate Ukraine’s gambling industry successfully

The deposit amount is additionally converted into rubles. After entering the deposit amount and selecting a payment method (hryvnia, cryptocurrency), all popular banks for deposits are available – "PrivatBank", "A-Bank", "Monobank".

Once the user selects a card payment method to top up their balance, a payment system page opens, displaying the card address for making the payment.

Unlawful casinos, corruption, and media suppression: the tactics Dragon Money used to navigate Ukraine’s gambling industry successfully

This scheme in the gambling market is called a p2p payment. After transferring money to the provided card – the funds are credited to the player’s personal balance.

A good question for law enforcement is how a company that optimizes taxation, opens an office in Ukraine, and operates openly and confidently can do so. Who and how much does Dragon Money pay for such open and assured operations? Additionally, according to insider information, the company has applied for a license to operate in the Ukrainian market.