Famous blogger Alena Omovych, who has around 2.7 million followers on Instagram, has been fined over 5 million UAH by the gambling business regulator PlayCity. The penalty was imposed due to her advertising an unlicensed online casino on her social media pages.
This is reported by Finway
How the Violations Were Established
The influencer was identified and held accountable thanks to the collaboration between PlayCity, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB). It was the specialists from BEB who conducted analytical work, officially identifying the individual behind the popular blog. This turned out to be individual entrepreneur Starykh Alena Eduardivna, who was fined millions in accordance with the requirements of Article 22 of the Law on Advertising.
Regulator’s Position and Other Cases
PlayCity emphasizes that current legislation categorically prohibits bloggers from advertising any form of gambling, especially illegal gaming platforms. Such actions are considered a direct harm to followers, as they draw people into a sphere where there are no guarantees of payouts and personal data protection is not ensured.
“I want to emphasize: bloggers are prohibited from advertising gambling – this is a violation of the Law on Advertising. Promoting illegal casinos is a direct harm to their audience. In fact, this is drawing people into a market where responsible gaming rules do not apply, there are no payout guarantees, and players’ personal data is not protected,” said agency director Hennadiy Novikov.
In addition to Alena Omovych, at the beginning of 2026, proceedings against other bloggers were recorded in the Unified Register of Debtors. In particular, Karina Kuchmenko (Simbochka) received fines of 4.8 million and 24 thousand UAH for similar advertising violations. Previously, the list of debtors also included Diana Movsesyan (Instagram account @xl.rusalochka.life) and Maksym Lavrynenko (Telegram channel “Trukha”).
It should be noted that the Ministry of Digital Transformation has initiated discussions on a draft resolution regarding the prohibition of military personnel from participating in gambling during the period of martial law.