Ukraine sanctions legal entities HellRaisers and WePlay. The esports companies claim they are not affiliated with them
2023-03-11 10:23:00Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council, imposing sanctions against a list of companies, including Weplay Media Holding Limited and Hellraisers Pro Ltd (both registered in Cyprus). According to the statement, they are prohibited from operating on the state's territory for 50 years.
Their licenses are revoked, and all assets are blocked. In total, restrictive measures were introduced against 120 individuals and 287 legal entities affiliated with Russia, betting and gambling. The list includes Parimatch, BetBoom, NAVI's main partner GGBet, and other entities operating in esports.
HellRaisers is a Ukrainian organization, factually operating in Serbia with a fully Russian Dota division. WePlay is a local tournament operator and broadcaster famous for hosting Kyiv Dota 2 AniMajor 2021. Both deny their connection with the banned companies.
HellRussers [joke about Russians on the team] are banned in Ukraine! It's good that HellRaisers aren't banned, as the legal entity from the sanction list is not ours.
WePlay Esports had no connections with the legal company [WePlay Media Holding] since 2019, when it [WPM] was transferred to the JKR investment fund (a Parimatch-affiliated company) as part of the termination of our cooperation with them [WPM].
Assumingly, HellRaisers also cut ties with the legal entity. Cyprus was the place to register EEU teams before 2022 for many reasons, including avoiding issues with Russian labor laws. Team Spirit and other teams were previously registered there.
