Russian casino 1XBet has another license in Ukraine under a different name: investigation of PointLoto (“Melbet”)

1XBet is a Russian bookmaker. In 2020, the owners of 1XBet Kazorin, Karshkov and Semiokhin were declared wanted in connection with the illegal organization and conduct of gambling. However, the bookmaker 1XBet and its subsidiaries under different names continue to operate in Russia and remain the largest operators on the market. This means that the company pays the most taxes to the coffers of the terrorist state among all market participants. Such a situation is possible only if the owners cooperate with the Russian FSS, which allowed owners to go abroad and continue working on the Russian market despite the illegality of such activities. 

In our joint investigation with Ain.ua, we tell how a Russian bookmaker 1XBet is connected to Ukraine, and how despite the cancellation of one of the licenses, they continue to profit from Ukrainians. 

1XBet received a license in Ukraine for the second month of the massive invasion of the occupiers

It all started on April 1, 2022, when Ain.ua published information that "In Ukraine, a license was issued to the bookmaker 1xBet”. The public reacted negatively to such news, a corresponding petition was created calling on the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy to cancel this license. The petition received the required number of votes, and on August 5, 2022, Zelenskiy instructed the government to consider banning the Russian bookmaker 1XBet.

In response to this, the Gambling and Lotteries Regulatory Commission on August 27 found no reason to withdraw the 1XBet license. But already on September 7, after the initiated inspection, the Commission decided to cancel the licenses of 1XBet, which operated in Ukraine under the name "Your Betting Company" LLC.

This should be the end of the story, but 1XBet has another license in Ukraine. Now it is a subsidiary company with a new name, but this does not change the essence of the matter – the Russians are still behind it. 

1XBet operates on the Ukrainian market under the name PointLoto (formerly "MELBET" LLC)

The PointLoto operator, a legal entity of POINTLOTO LLC, had a different name back in June 2022, at the beginning of the scandal with obtaining a 1xBet license in Ukraine. To stay on the market and not fall under the "hot hand", they changed their name and legal entity. Before changing the registration form, the operator was called Melbet – MELBET LLC. 

Let's consider the legal changes of Melbet (Pointloto) Ukraine in chronological order:

• in November 2020, registered the legal entity "Melbet" LLC;
• in October 2021, "Melbet" LLC received a license for gambling activities;
• in March 2021, the manager changed from "Gvozdyk Oleksandr Serhiyovych" to "Makarytskyi Viktor Viktorovych";
• in June 2022, the manager changed to "Malyutenko Andriy Olegovych";
• in June 2022, the name was changed to "Pointloto" LLC, the name of the brand was changed from "Melbet" to "Pointloto1", in July the website melbet.ua was changed to pointloto1.com.ua.

That is, before they were called "MELBET" LLC, now they are called "POINTLOTTO" LLC, but again, this does not change the essence of the matter. Behind these companies are Russians who continue to pay taxes in the Russian Federation.

Melbet (Pointloto) connections with 1XBet:

• the melbet.sport.ua site is hosted (1, 2, 3) on the same IP 46.101.68.46 with 1xBet mirrors;
• the corporate name of Melbet in Russia (1, 2) is "Melofon" LLC;
• there is a video for 2020, which contains evidence that TM "Melbet" in Russia belongs to 1XСТАВКА (1Xbet in Russian transcription, a company directly affiliated with 1XBet). As of September 2022, the trademark belongs to Melofon LLC, and 1XSTAVKA has been renamed to Celebrity LLC.

Despite the evidence that the company Melbet (Pointloto) is related to 1XBet and is their subsidiary project, the company received a license to conduct activities for the organization and conduct of gambling games on the Internet. Ukrainian Gambling and Lottery Regulatory Commission selective activity is either a short-sighted company vetting policy or a suspicious double-standard system for companies with Russian assets. 

Further, this case should be considered by the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), which previously dealt with the 1XBet case. 

About the results of our joint investigation with Ain.ua wrote InformNapalm, MC.today, FAKTY, NV.ua, Business.Censor and others.

Information about the owners of the company Pointloto (Melbet)

Oleksandr Serhiyevich Gvozdyk (04/03/1982, +380964997617, +380972658288, +380565658671, +380565658692, TIN: 3004307174) owns TM "Melbet", a former world boxing champion in the WBC version, which until In March 2021, he was listed as a director at "Pointloto" LLC (former "Melbet" LLC). As of September 2022, he owns "Big Data 2020" LLC, which was created together (1, 2) with "Melbet" LLC, at the same address, which also organizes gambling.

Viktor Viktorovych Makarytskyi – held the position of head of Melbet LLC from 03.2021 to 06.2022. According to the article, he was the driver of the late Kazartsev, who, according to the argument.ua article , was Gvozdyk's sponsor.

Andriy Olegovich Malyutenko – since 06.2022, he has been the head of Pointloto LLC (former Melbet LLC).

Legal entities in Ukraine:

• LLC "Pointloto";
• LLC "Big Data 2020".

Projects in Ukraine:

• Gambling Pointloto1.

State:

• Dmytro Telyatnikov – it is indicated that he works at Melbet in the position of Retention Team Lead, in Odesa.

You can get additional information about the financial indicators of the companies listed in the investigation at this link.

If you want to receive more information, or the full text of the investigation in a certain language – write to us at: business@molfar.global