Las Vegas is model for gambling sector purge

Ukrainian officials seeking to oust Russian actors from the country's gambling industry are going to emulate the methods of the US authorities in the 1980s when they rooted out the Italian mob from the casinos of Las Vegas.

- Daniel Boffey

Gambling was legalised in Ukraine after a 10-year ban shortly before the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has been a profitable avenue for Russians who want to make money in the country and collect the personal data of Ukrainian gamblers.

Ukraine's gambling regulator started revoking licences last September, and this spring Volodymyr Zelenskiy sanctioned more than 400 individuals and legal entities related to Russian gambling businesses, including five Ukrainian firms. Banks and other financial institutions suspected to have been aiding the laundering of gambling profits on behalf of Russian oligarchs have also been a focus.

But the exploitation of the sector remains a threat to which the authorities say they are determined to respond, despite concerns that even the supervising bodies have fallen foul of Russian influence.