Pin Up has banned the use of its trademark in Russia and 36 other countries.
Pin Up Global, a gambling brand that operates in many countries around the world, has banned the use of its trademark in Russia and some other countries, such as: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Aruba, Bonaire, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, and the United States, North Korea, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, St. Maarten, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Till now, Pin-Up in Ukraine has been operating through two legal entities – Victoria Soft and Ukr Game Technology. On August 8, KRAIL revoked the license of Victoria-Soft LLC due to its ties with Russia. The reason was a letter from the Security Service of Ukraine. In it, the SBU provided KRAIL with data on the connections of Victoria-Soft with the aggressor country. We remind you that on May 13, 2024, the Pechersk District Court seized the accounts of Pin-Up online casino (Ukr Game Technology LLC) within the criminal proceedings of the State Bureau of Investigation.
The SBI found that Pin-Up transferred more than UAH 170 million in software license fees to Guruflow Team LTD, a company controlled by Russian citizens, from January 19, 2022 to February 26, 2024.
Pin-Up is one of the five largest gambling companies in Ukraine. The court decisions say that the company is suspected of involvement in a mechanism for providing services for laundering criminal proceeds through the purchase of cryptocurrency and circumventing sanctions against Russia.
Let’s dive into the history of Pin-Up
Pin-up Holding was founded in 2016 in Russia. Like many other similar gambling companies, its structure is legally divided into several parts, each of which is responsible for its own area of work:
- Pin-Up.Casino and Pin-Up.Bet are casinos and sports betting, respectively, with franchises operating in Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, India, and Brazil.
- Pin-Up.Partners generates player traffic for both businesses.
- Pin-Up.Tech is a development, in fact, it is the IT department of the holding
Pin-Up.Tech is the company that Pin-Up calls “Ukrainian product IT company” with the largest office in Kyiv.
In Ukraine, Pin-Up launched later than in Russia. Here, the company was noticed in 2020 – shortly before the legalization of casinos – when a red casino ad with a man with a long beard appeared in Kyiv, which was different from the others. Around that time, a huge Parimatch billboard that had been hanging for several years on the high-rise buildings on the left bank to the right of the Paton Bridge was replaced by the same Pin-Up billboard.
As explained on the official website Pin-Up, now taking into account political, economic and reputational risks, PIN-UP Global will focus its activities on the most favorable regulated markets for further expansion.
“Product compliance with responsible gaming principles, regulatory requirements and local partnership rules is critical for PIN-UP. Our goal is to follow a sustainable growth strategy to ensure the stability and development of our business,” said Marina Ilyina, CEO of PIN-UP Global.
PIN-UP Global will focus on business growth with a commitment to technology, B2B solutions, investments, and innovation in iGaming product development. Strategic plans also include restructuring processes, B2B licensing, and certification of its products in the EU market.
This will allow the company to strengthen its position in the international arena and investment-attractive regions by expanding partnership contracts with licensed gambling companies. And the refusal to be represented in certain countries is aimed at laundering the brand’s reputation. We are following the development of the process of freezing the company’s accounts in Ukraine and will provide you with the latest and most reliable information. Don’t miss it.
