PlayCity Partners with Kick and Major Platforms to Accelerate Removal of Illegal Gambling Ads in Ukraine
PlayCity, Ukraine’s gambling regulator, has established direct communication channels with major digital platforms, including the emerging social platform Kick. The move, announced on Monday, aims to accelerate the removal of content promoting unlicensed gambling as operators and streamers increasingly leverage social media to reach Ukrainian audiences.
This represents a structural shift in enforcement. Rather than relying solely on reactive complaints, PlayCity is embedding itself into the operational workflows of the platforms where illegal advertising actually appears. For gaming executives with exposure in emerging European markets, the implications are immediate: faster content moderation, clearer accountability chains, and a regulator that is learning to speak the language of digital platforms.
Direct Platform Collaboration
PlayCity would work directly with platform teams at TikTok, YouTube, Meta (Instagram/Facebook), Twitch, Viber, Google and Kick. This framework enables the regulator to promptly report suspected breaches, request content verification, and seek restrictions on accounts, channels, or posts that violate Ukraine’s advertising regulations related to gambling.
Kick, founded in 2022 as a competitor to Twitch, is the newest addition to this network. Its inclusion signals that even rapidly growing live-streaming environments are now within the regulator’s operational perimeter.
The approach treats platforms as active partners rather than passive hosts. In my experience advising client-partners across regulated jurisdictions, this kind of direct channel often reduces enforcement lag from weeks to hours.
Enforcement Outcomes to Date
PlayCity reported notable early results from this proactive approach. In the past month alone, 37 social media accounts have been blocked across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, and Kick. These channels collectively had an audience exceeding 895,000 followers. Two Kick channels were also removed in the last week as a result of the regulator’s flagged complaints.
Since launching an accessible online complaint form, PlayCity has received 425 reports of illegal advertising, including 19 during June. Over the entire duration of its campaign, the regulator has restricted access to 785 profiles exhibiting non-compliant gambling advertisements on social and streaming platforms.
These numbers demonstrate measurable traction. Yet they also highlight the scale of the challenge still ahead.
Two-Stage Enforcement Process
PlayCity employed a structured enforcement process consisting of two stages. The first is a referral for takedown. Content suspected of breaching laws is submitted to the respective platforms for removal or restriction.
The second is an investigation and sanctions. Concurrently, PlayCity will identify the responsible parties behind the ads. Should offenders be determined, the agency can apply financial penalties. Violations incur a fine close to UAH5.2 million ($155,678).
If identification is not possible using public registries, PlayCity states it is committed to involving law enforcement authorities to pursue further action.
In PlayCity’s recent inaugural year report, the regulator revealed fines in excess of UAH988 million had been imposed on gambling organisers due to legal violations, alongside roughly UAH80 million in penalties for breaches of advertising regulations.
Risks and Limitations of the Model
Not all complaints yield fines. Content that does not legally meet definitions of illegal gambling advertising is exempted from penalties, and complainants receive notification if their case is dismissed.
This two-stage filter is necessary for due process, but it introduces friction. False positives can strain platform relationships. False negatives can erode public trust. Operators must therefore ensure their own marketing and affiliate compliance programs exceed the minimum legal thresholds that PlayCity applies.
Ukraine’s advertising laws restrict such promotions, particularly to prevent targeting minors and mandate clear disclosure of licensed operators. The convergence of social streaming, influencer marketing, and real-money gambling has made these distinctions operationally complex. Regulators are catching up, but the gap remains an execution risk for any licensee or partner active in the market.
The Bottom Line
PlayCity’s collaboration with Kick and other major platforms marks an inflection point in how a national regulator can operationalize digital enforcement. By moving from complaints to direct channels and from takedowns to sanctions, the agency is building both speed and teeth. For executives evaluating market entry or scaling affiliate programs in Ukraine and similar jurisdictions, the signal is clear: platform-level compliance is no longer optional. Those who treat these partnerships as strategic inputs rather than regulatory burdens will be best positioned as enforcement matures. The question now is how quickly other regulators will adopt similar direct-integration models.
