09 February 2026
(PHOTO: gamebridge.ua)
The Arbuzynskyi District Court of Mykolaiv Region has completed the consideration of the case on the organization of illegal gambling business in Pivdenoukrainsk. The defendants in the case were a mother and her son, who set up the underground establishment more than ten years ago.
This is stated in the court verdict.
According to the case file, the criminal group was created at the end of 2012 by the organizer, who is being investigated separately. The group purchased 88 slot machines for the operation of two underground gambling halls, which were in operation until the scheme was exposed in April 2013. The defendants acted as administrators, managing the staff, finances and reporting to the organizer on profits.
During the trial, the woman and her son denied their guilt . The defendant claimed that at the time she was working as a seasonal laborer in Koblevo, and her son said he was an employee of a car wash. Nevertheless, the court found their testimony unconvincing and, relying on evidence and witnesses' testimony, proved their direct involvement in the crime.
The court took into account the circumstances of the case and the personalities of the defendants, sentencing them to the punishment provided for in Part 1 of Article 203-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Both were found guilty of participating in a criminal group and illegal activities in the field of gambling, which resulted in a fine of UAH 204 thousand for each. In addition, the verdict provides for the confiscation of all gambling equipment and cash seized during the searches, as well as the recovery of procedural costs from the convicts.
Interestingly, this case has been going on since 2016, when the South Ukrainian City Court acquitted the defendants due to lack of evidence. However, the prosecutor's office successfully appealed this decision , which led to a retrial and the current guilty verdict.
Катерина Глушко
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