| Parimatch | |
| Industry: | Betting |
| Founded: | 1994 |
| Defunct: | 2023 |
| Hq Location City: | Limassol |
| Hq Location Country: | Cyprus |
| Key People: | Sergey Portnov (CEO)[1] |
| Products: | Bookmaking, betting shops, online gambling |
| Website: | parimatch.com |
Parimatch was an international sports betting company that operated in Europe, with its headquarters located in Limassol, Cyprus.
Parimatch was established in 1994 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The company entered the Russian market in 1998. The online betting website was launched in 2000 and was one of the first among bookmakers in the CIS region.[2] In September 2015, Parimatch entered the Kazakhstan market and began cooperation with Federbet to prevent match-fixing.[3] In 2018, the company began operations in Tanzania[4] and Cyprus.[5] In December 2018, Parimatch's CEO, Sergey Portnov won 'Leader of the year award' at the SBC Awards held in London.[6] In February 2020, the company joined the Esports Integrity Commission to assist with battling cheating and fraud in esports.[7] In March 2021, Parimatch became the first betting company in Ukraine to buy a license after a new law regulation was adopted by the local parliament.[8] [9] [10] In June 2021, Parimatch expanded operations across India.[11] In December 2021, Parimatch acquired the performance marketing organization Mr Fish in addition to the online poker room PokerMatch.[12]
In March 2022, Parimatch withdrew the franchise from Russia due to the full-scale military invasion into Ukraine.[13] [14] Following this, in May, Parimatch announced they had organized the Parimatch Foundation and had allocated €510,000 to support the people of Ukraine. The foundation, originally set up for educational and sports projects, has reallocated its resources toward helping Ukrainian women and children during the humanitarian crisis.[15]
In April 2022, Parimatch announced a restructuring of its management, appointing Maksym Liashko as the new CEO of the organization as Roman Syrotian (former CEO) stepped into a supervisory role.[16]
In May 2022, Parimatch continued with the company's plan for international expansion by opening a new European hub in Prague. Additionally, the new office provided a working environment for the company employees from Ukraine. The previous company R&D center was in Kyiv but has been relocated for safety reasons due to military activity around the capital.[17]
The majority owner of Parimatch is a Ukrainian national Serhii Portnov, who, in summer 2024, acquired a majority stake in the group from Kateryna Beloruska, thus concentrating control over the bookmaker company. This change was approved by all shareholders due to Beloruska's decision to completely exit from the iGaming business.[18]
Parimatch operated under local licenses issued by the regulatory authorities of each country in Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Tanzania.[19] The company also carried out its activity under the international license of the self-governing territory Curaçao (eGaming).
On October 1, 2020, Parimatch launched into the UK market with their website being run by BV Gaming Limited.
On March 10, Parimatch LLC had its operations in Ukraine suspended by the National Security and Defense Council, as reported by Hromadske. The sanctions affected all property of the company, including its subsidiary websites and the licensed website PM.UA. As a result of the blocking, approximately 250 million hryvnias of Ukrainian players' funds were frozen in Parimatch's accounts, according to Maksym Lyashko.