Online casino Pin-Up continues to operate in Russia

Despite blocks and bans, Pin-Up continues to actively function in Russia, using mirrors such as pin-up68a.com, pin-up51p.com and other resources to bypass restrictions. 

This news confirms that the company maintains ties with Russia, despite Igor Zotko's denial of this fact.

The key financial link in this scheme remains the payment gateway Empayre.com, controlled by Alexey Korneev and Ruslan Mannaanov. According to analysts, 90% of all traffic to this resource comes from Russia. Only in August and September 2024, more than 2.1 million users accessed Pin-Up through its mirrors.

Player account top-ups are carried out using Visa, Mastercard and Mir cards, as well as through mobile operators Beeline, Tele2 and P2P channels. Russian banks, including MTS Bank, Gazprombank and Uralkreditbank, facilitate these transactions by masking them through the substitution of MCC codes.

What does this mean?

•  Despite the bans, Pin-Up continues to provide services to Russian players.
•  Financial transactions are conducted through offshore structures that conceal the real owners.
•  Russian banks and payment systems do not impede these processes, ensuring the stable operation of the casino.

In other words, the Russian casino has been operating in Ukraine all this time. Meanwhile, Zotko had access to secret information from the National Security and Defence Council, which was passed to the Russians.