Gambling billions of Zhurylo and scandalous booking: what is known about the partnership of FC "Oleksandriya" Kuzmenko with BetKing

Gambling billions of Zhurylo and scandalous booking: what is known about the partnership of FC "Oleksandriya" Kuzmenko with BetKing

The Ukrainian gambling market, despite the war and sanctions, continues to generate billions in revenue, often accompanied by high-profile journalistic exposés. Recently, the media space was rocked by another insider from the Telegram channel "Joker", which directly accuses one of the leaders of FC "Oleksandriya", Ivan Kuzmenko, of possible involvement in money laundering for the BetKing casino. In addition to financial issues, the channel’s author suggests that the football official was allegedly involved in the sale of the club’s "armor" to individuals with no connection to sports.

This incident has once again drawn attention to the figure of Pavlo Zhurylo – beneficiary of several gambling brands, whose activities have repeatedly become the subject of StopCor investigations.

Our analysts have examined what may lie behind the "Joker’s" hypothesis regarding the partnership between BetKing and FC "Oleksandriya".

From Slotoking to BetKing: Pavlo Zhurylo’s gambling empire

To understand the essence of the story, let us recall what is known about its main character. Pavlo Zhurylo is the director and ultimate beneficiary of LLC "Slots U.A.", which owns the online casino brands SLOTOKING and 777. According to OpenDataBot data, in 2023 alone the company increased its revenue 103-fold, earning UAH 3.4 billion and entering the top 10 most successful players in Ukraine’s gambling market. Zhurylo’s total business income in 2025 already exceeded UAH 17 billion.

Although Slotoking publicly positions itself as a Ukrainian brand, according to media outlet "Komentari", it allegedly operated for years through Curaçao offshore companies and actively advertised to Russian-speaking audiences, providing access to players from Russia via "mirror" sites.

On November 21")). 2024, the KRAIL issued LLC "Slots U.A." a bookmaker license (decision No. 559), launching the new brand – BetKing. The license is valid for five years – until December 4, 2029. According to the OpenDataBot Gambling Register, LLC "SLOTS U.A." (operator of the Slotoking and 777 brands) did receive a bookmaker license, although the register lists the date as 05.12.2024.

Following the liquidation of KRAIL, the function of licensing gambling activities in Ukraine was transferred to a new body – the State Agency "PlayCity".

The corresponding decision of the PlayCity agency No. 82-R "On issuing LLC "SLOTS U.A." a license to conduct activities for organizing and conducting gambling in casinos on the Internet" is dated March 25, 2026.

BetKing positions itself as "one of the leading brands of King Group", systematically investing in the football environment: partnership with La Liga, club sponsorship, etc.

In December 2024, we wrote: in March 2024, KRAIL fined "Slots U.A." UAH 3.55 million for allowing persons listed in the Register of persons restricted from gambling to participate in games. In October 2024, the regulator even refused to consider the company’s application for a bookmaker license due to failure to provide documents confirming the absence of ties with Russia.

Nevertheless, the license was still issued a month later. In response to a media editorial inquiry, KRAIL explained that it "found no grounds for refusal". The question remains open.

In addition, in December 2023 the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv found Zhurylo guilty of violating tax accounting procedures: an overstatement of the negative value of the taxable object by more than UAH 38 million for 2021–2022 was established. The symbolic fine of UAH 170 imposed by the court appears disproportionate given the potential scale of the manipulations.

BetKing and FC "Oleksandriya": what is known about this partnership?

On July 1, 2025, BetKing and FC "Oleksandriya" officially signed a premium partnership agreement. According to the club’s website, "Oleksandriya" became "the first Ukrainian football club to sign a partnership agreement with BetKing". The agreement provides for "comprehensive support" for the club – financial, marketing, and image-related.

At first glance, it is a standard sports sponsorship. But the context raises uncomfortable questions.

LLC FC "Oleksandriya" is the legal entity headed, according to YouControl data, by Ivan Kuzmenko – son of Serhiy Kuzmenko, president of the club.

Serhiy Kuzmenko is, according to Latifundist, one of the most influential agricultural figures in Kirovohrad region, former head of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration (2014–2015), and historical founder of the agroholding "AgroVista".

Ivan Kuzmenko, referred to by "Joker" in his post as "Kuzmenko Jr.", has served as the club’s general director since 2021.

He graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in international economics and has experience in financial management at "AgroIzvestiya".

"Also involved in laundering money from the BetKing casino is one of the owners of FC ’Oleksandriya’ – Kuzmenko Jr. Previously, Kuzmenko Jr. was implicated in the sale of ’armor’ of FC ’Oleksandriya’ to people who have no connection to the club", – reads the post from "Joker".

The media deems it necessary to emphasize: the quoted statement is a publication from a closed, anonymous Telegram channel and has not yet been proven. However, the combination of circumstances provides grounds for deeper analysis.

According to UA-Football, citing its own insider source in the UPL, FC "Oleksandriya" general director Ivan Kuzmenko allegedly may have used the reservation-from-mobilization mechanism for people with no connection to the club. At the same time, according to the same data, part of the club’s academy coaches still remain without official reservations – meaning those who truly needed protection were allegedly sidelined in favor of outsiders.

This is not just a media scandal: reservation from mobilization is a sensitive topic under full-scale war conditions, and such abuse may qualify as evasion of military duty for personal gain.

Possible money laundering through sports: how it works worldwide?

Money laundering through football sponsorship (sportswashing) is a fairly common scheme worldwide. It involves transferring funds of undetermined origin from a company to a club under the guise of sponsorship or advertising payments. The funds are "laundered" through accounting documentation and converted into legitimate club income. Such schemes usually involve two parties: a structure with large cash or digital cash flows (e.g., an online casino) and a club with loyal management.

Online casinos are traditionally a likely party to such operations: high turnover of funds, anonymization of transactions, and complex verification of actual winners. That is why the then regulator (KRAIL) once required operators to conduct strict financial monitoring.

However, as we have already seen, "Slots U.A." had problems with this: the UAH 3.55 million fine was imposed precisely for violations of player identification.

Let us summarize the listed facts:

1. Pavlo Zhurylo and his LLC "Slots U.A." have documented issues with regulators: a fine of UAH 3.55 million, KRAIL’s refusal to consider the application due to suspicions of ties with the Russian Federation, and tax violations amounting to UAH 38 million that were considered in court.
2. BetKing – the new brand of the same individual – promptly after obtaining the license (November 2024) concluded a "premium partnership" with FC "Oleksandriya" (July 2025). The club publicly boasts that it is the "first" in such a partnership with BetKing.
3. FC "Oleksandriya" General Director Ivan Kuzmenko Jr. became embroiled in a media scandal involving possible abuse of mobilization reservations.
4. The Telegram channel "Joker" names Kuzmenko Jr. as involved in the "laundering of funds from the BetKing casino".

Is there a legally proven connection between these events? To date – no. But journalistic logic suggests that these circumstances warrant due attention from the State Financial Monitoring Service, the National Police, and the Office of the Prosecutor General.