According to the investigation by the First Truth & Transparency Committee and Transparency International, the global anti-corruption organization, Favbet owner Andrii Matiukha has decided to plunge his billion-dollar business into the shadows.
The issue is that after the Ukrainian regulator PlayCity initiated license revocation proceedings in early February 2026 due to numerous violations, Favbet appears not to have ceased operations but instead shifted to shadow schemes under the new Allwin brand.
According to available data, Allwin is positioned as a “clone” of the original Favbet platform but with low traffic and a focus on the “gray” market segment, where there is no state control.
Gambling market experts note that after losing its license, Favbet began actively redirecting clients to Allwin through direct contacts, using its previously collected customer database. This practice not only bypasses regulatory restrictions but also exposes players to risks, as Allwin operates without a Ukrainian license, without verification mechanisms, age controls, or responsible gaming tools.
The platform targets vulnerable groups, including those with gambling addiction, and does not pay taxes or license fees. Public sources confirm that AllwinUA operates as an independent platform for casino games, live games, and betting, but with mirror sites to bypass blocks—a hallmark of shadow operators.
Parallel to these maneuvers, Favbet Tech—the IT division of the Favbet holding—is experiencing a deep crisis with salary payments and staffing issues. In recent times, the situation has become critical: in November 2025, top management received only about half their salaries, while regular employees faced cuts of 10–15%. In December, cuts became mass-scale—nearly everyone saw 40% reductions, and managers half. Payments were delayed, and even in early 2026, most employees had not received funds, though payments were previously made by the 15th of the month.
This financial instability is accompanied by waves of layoffs. The first wave happened “on the spot”: employees were told their last working day with promises to pay only up to that date. Compensation for unused vacation was initially refused but eventually paid under pressure. The second wave was larger-scale: DevOps managers, some developers, QA specialists, and project managers were cut. The company promises full salaries, but in practice, only a few received money. Overall, according to open sources, Favbet Tech disbanded almost its entire R&D department in 48 hours, leading to hundreds of layoffs.
The situation is complicated by top management’s trip to Barcelona for the ICE conference at the end of 2025. LinkedIn confirms the participation of CEO Artem Skrypnyk, CBDO Vitaliy Silaev, and Head of Product Zakhar Khrystych. Amid a wave of employee dissatisfaction, they held an All Hands meeting directly from Barcelona, explaining the trip as “business purposes” and promising to unblock accounts and restore salaries. However, according to inside sources, such meetings often boil down to empty promises without concrete results.
Additional pressure on the company comes from the outflow of key personnel: in December 2025, strong CPO and CTO left, quickly replaced by new leaders whom the team has complaints about. Since then, experienced employees have been leaving regularly, easily finding new opportunities on the market. This is part of a broader trend in the tech sector, where mass layoffs occurred in 2023–2024 (over 124,000 globally in 2024), but in Favbet Tech’s case, problems are exacerbated by a “stop-order” from the authorities that froze deposits, withdrawals, and operations.
The company’s strategy, outlined in internal meetings, includes launching Allwin as the main product in the “gray” segment, submitting an application for the PlayCity lottery (where funding was found), and promises of entering new markets that have been echoed for a year without progress. Salary repayments were initially promised for February 2026, then postponed to March, with hints of a third layoff wave.
The payment scheme now looks like this:
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Cash in Kyiv for those who stayed in Ukraine and did not choose cryptocurrency;
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In cryptocurrency;
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Bank transfers from European companies for those abroad.
The company claims delays are due to pressure from Verkhovna Rada Finance Committee head Danylo Hetmantsev on partner banks, but this does not negate the fact of mass violations. Analysts link the crisis to a network of British companies connected to founder Andriy Matiukha, which may be used for tax optimization and capital movement.
Favbet’s actions after losing its license demonstrate a shift to illegal schemes under the Allwin brand, threatening players and the state budget. Meanwhile, Favbet Tech is drowning in a crisis of payments and layoffs, heightening social tensions. This demands immediate attention from PlayCity, law enforcement, and public organizations—otherwise, the shadow gambling market will continue to grow, and thousands of Ukrainians will suffer from financial instability.