Ukraine’s Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) has officially revoked the operating licenses of two corporate structures directly linked to the prominent gambling brand Favbet, owned by businessman Andriy Matyuha. The sanctions targeted LLC «Favorit Casino Company» (Favbet Casino) and LLC «Favbet Vip Casino» (Favbet Poker). The regulatory decision follows investigations by law enforcement and financial watchdogs that uncovered undeniable links between these entities and the aggressor state, maintained either directly or through ultimate beneficial owners.
Despite a public statement released by the Favbet brand on March 4, 2022, claiming a total cessation of operations in Belarus, the closure of all gambling halls, and the surrender of its licenses, the local legal entity LLC «Favbetbel» remains fully active in the country.
Official registries list Andriy Matyuha himself and the British firm Andalidi Invest LTD—where the businessman served simultaneously as founder and director until autumn 2022—as current shareholders. This British entity successfully registered four Favbet trademarks in Belarus, three of which remain legally valid until 2028–2029. Investigative data reveals that it is precisely through this chain of British and Belarusian shell companies that the legal entity «Bet Invest» and the «Favbet» trademark were established and registered within the Russian Federation.
In Ukraine, the operations of Matyuha’s gambling network are currently the subject of multiple high-profile criminal investigations. According to the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, a massive illegal gambling network operated nationwide using a sophisticated web of individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) and nominee account holders known as «drops.»
«An illegal gambling business operated through a network of FOPs and so-called ‘drops’—specifically the online casino Favbet, whose owner, according to the agency’s findings, cooperated with Russia,» the Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service stated during a recent media briefing.
Following comprehensive audits of the gambling business, assets belonging to the interconnected firms were frozen. Consequently, 907 million UAH has been seized and transferred to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).
According to official financial statements, the businessman’s corporate network displays highly anomalous financial behavior. LLC «Favorit Casino Company,» which operated a casino inside the Mercure Kyiv Congress Hotel in the capital, saw its revenues grow steadily, peaking at 177 million UAH in 2025. Concurrently, however, the company consistently declared severe net losses: minus 14 million UAH in 2021 and minus 109 million UAH in 2022. A similar pattern of negative net returns was recorded in subsequent years, as well as in the filings of another linked entity, LLC «Favbet Game Slots.»
Despite the declared insolvency of the casinos, Matyuha-linked structures hold a massive real estate and business portfolio across Ukraine:
The Stoyanka Estate: A luxury mansion and surrounding land in one of Kyiv’s most prestigious suburbs are registered under LLC «Lux House,» solely owned by Matyuha.
Luxury Hospitality: LLC «Favorit-Dosug» owns a premium suburban resort named «Maracuja» (notably named «Matryoshka» prior to the full-scale invasion) in the Kyiv region.
Commercial Real Estate & Production: Through dozens of legal entities, the businessman controls multiple apartments and historic buildings in downtown Kyiv, regional office centers (in Lutsk, Kryvyi Rih, and Ivano-Frankivsk), the Ibis Hotel in the capital, a business center in Khmelnytskyi, and the «Voda UA» mineral water production plant.
Andriy Matyuha left Ukraine shortly after the beginning of the full-scale invasion. According to available intelligence, he currently resides in the affluent resort city of Marbella, Spain.
Simultaneously, Croatian media investigations have exposed the entrepreneur’s substantial business interests in the Balkans. Journalists documented that Matyuha has been utilizing a luxury €2 million villa belonging to Zoran Mamić, a former Dinamo Zagreb footballer who fled Croatia following convictions for high-profile financial fraud. The offshore corporate network tied to the Ukrainian businessman currently spans the United Kingdom, Spain, Cyprus, Belize, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Malta, and Croatia.