An appeals court in Kyiv has ruled against a radio station in a long-running dispute over an online casino ad campaign.
The Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals overturned a District Court’s decision to absolve the station, DJ FM, and its operator, Ukrainian Radio Group, instead ordering them to pay a $54,000 fine, the Ukrainian news outlet Sudom Po Shemam reported on Telegram.
The radio station ran the ad campaign in April 2024. But regulators objected to the ads featuring the name and logo of an online casino operator.
The station posted billboard ads for its popular show Shukay Plusi (Search for Pluses) in downtown areas of the capital. However, the campaign itself was named Shukay Plusi First, a reference to the gambling platform First.
Online Casino Ad Case Appeal: Court Overturns Verdict
The billboard ads featured two mentions of First, and their bottom right corner featured the First logo, details about its operator, First Element, as well as a picture of a playing card and a diamond.
Regulators objected to the billboards, claiming they violated Ukraine’s gambling laws.
In the ensuing District Court case, DJ FM claimed that First was included on the ad only because it was a sponsor. The station’s lawyers said all references to First on the posters were merely “informative.”
The District Court ruled in favor of DJ FM on May 28. But the appeals court instead accepted the regulator’s claim that the billboards were a “direct violation” of Ukraine’s advertising laws.
The laws contain a “prohibition on the placement of advertising of trademarks of gambling organizers by means of outdoor advertising, regardless of how the billboards are designed,” prosecutors told the court.
The appeals court said that any mention of a sponsor in a billboard ad “is a form of indirect advertising.”
If such mentions “generate an interest in a [platform] with a connection to gambling,” it is “subject to strict regulation.”
Regulators Ramp Up Pressure
Ukrainian gambling regulators have stepped up their policing of the sector in recent months. Kyiv has scrapped the country’s former gaming regulator and launched a new agency that polices lottery operators and online operators alike.
The body, PlayCity, has launched mandatory reporting requirements and has punished firms that fail to adhere to its new protocols.
PlayCity has also recently revoked the operating permits of the Favbet Casino, Favbet Poker, and Billionaire platforms.
The regulator said it had seen proof that the firms and their owners had ties to Russia.
“The gambling market must operate transparently, legally, and without connections with [Russia],” PlayCity said in a statement earlier this month.
