Over the past two months, an event has happened in Cosmolot that would have closed most casinos — and they continued to work. In late April 2026, the State Agency PlayCity revoked the operator’s license for p2p payments and replenishments from third-party cards. Fines of 12.9 million UAH (8.6 million for p2p + 4.3 million for other people’s cards). And already in the first days of May, the Kyiv District Administrative Court suspended this decision. Cosmolot continued to work. How this became possible — let me unpack.
What PlayCity did
In short — they conducted an unscheduled inspection and found:
- p2p payments (direct transfers between cards of individuals) — formally this is a “gray” scheme, prohibited for licensed business
- Replenishments from bank cards of third parties — violation of KYC and AML requirements
- According to the regulator, through these schemes Cosmolot evaded paying taxes
Against this background, April 2024 should also not be forgotten — the BEB opened a criminal case on tax evasion of more than 1 billion UAH. The investigation estimates: 4.5 billion was paid to players without paying personal income tax and military fee of 1.1 billion UAH.
License revocation + 13 million fine = essentially the end of business. But.
How the court canceled the decision
Cosmolot filed to the Kyiv District Administrative Court. Arguments:
1. Fiscal aspect. Over the past three years, the company transferred 3.8+ billion UAH of taxes to the budget. In 2026, another 135 million was expected. If the casino is closed — the state risks losing these revenues.
2. Disputability of accusations. What PlayCity calls p2p schemes, Cosmolot classifies as standard banking transfers that current legislation allows. The details of this discussion are purely legal, but the court agreed that the decision to revoke is premature.
3. “Status quo” measures. The court suspended the PlayCity decision until the case is fully considered on the merits. This means — Cosmolot can accept players and pay winnings, but the final decision is still ahead.
As of May 2026 — the casino is legally operating. For how long — unknown. The consideration on the merits may drag on for months.
Who really owns Cosmolot
Public information is confused here because the structure has changed several times.
2020: LLC “Speysix” was created. In public materials (including Wikipedia), the brand is associated with Russian businessman Serhiy Tokarev — previously sanctioned by the NSDC, founder of the Roosh investment fund. In 2020, sanctions were lifted from him.
2023: Cosmolot was the first to attract foreign investment. Arnulf Damerau (German businessman, EuroAtlantic Group, Britain) entered the business.
Spring 2024: Damerau announced the “full acquisition” of Cosmolot. Serhiy Potapov remained the founder and CEO of LLC “Speysix.” Damerau — the ultimate beneficiary.
End of 2025 — Damerau’s interview with Financial Times: the businessman accused the Ukrainian SBU and the Zelensky administration of extorting tens of millions of euros. This is a separate scandalous story that both sides interpret differently.
Conclusion: formally the owner is the German-British holding through Damerau. Ukrainian media and experts continue to associate the brand with Tokarev, but legally this has not yet been proven.
Numbers that scare
Cosmolot’s financial indicators in recent years:
- 2022: 552.1 million UAH revenue
- 2023: 28 billion UAH (explosion after legalization)
- 2024: 1.1 billion UAH (drop by 25 times)
- 2025: 42.8 million UAH (drop by another 25 times)
This is a 650-fold drop in two years. I have never seen this in a legal business. The reasons are court arrests of accounts, fines, partial outflow of players against the background of scandals. Whether the company will recover is an open question.
What was worthy in Cosmolot
Here it’s worth being objective — Cosmolot has real positive sides:
Help to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The total amount of front support is 130+ million UAH. Of these, 100 million for the purchase of Punisher UAVs (50 units) as part of the Cosmolot Airlines project. Damerau personally handed them over to the front. Investments in the Brave Inventors platform — financing Ukrainian weapons developers.
First on the market. Cosmolot received license No. 1 from KRAIL — this is the same historical document from February 2, 2021. The first licensed online entertainment in Ukraine is Cosmolot.
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Should you play now
Honestly — this is a question with increased risk. Let me explain why:
1. Legal instability. The court may, after months, cancel its decision and the license will be revoked finally. What will happen to your funds on the account — the question.
2. Drop in turnover by 650 times in 2 years. This means that the company is working in survival mode. Payouts on large amounts may drag on longer than the standard 5 days.
3. BEB criminal case. The investigation of 1+ billion UAH is still ongoing. If a guilty verdict is rendered — this may affect all the company’s accounts, including players’ winnings.
4. PlayCity inspections. The regulator may conduct a new inspection and find new violations. The pace of such inspections in 2026 is increasing.
If you still play — keep small amounts (up to 5k), withdraw often and don’t leave anything extra on the account. In case of emergency decisions of the regulator or the court.
Conclusion
Cosmolot 2026 — a symbol of how quickly the legal gambling market in Ukraine grew and how quickly it is descending. The former market leader (28 billion turnover in 2023) is now in “soft survival” with a turnover of 42 million (2025) and a revoked license that the court returned.
The brand on which you saw advertising everywhere in 2022-23, in 2026 is a story with an open finale. Whether Cosmolot will become a leader again — will depend on the court, the regulator, new investors. You can play in it now, but without excessive risk.