Parimatch Tech has fully “unplugged” its Russian brand as of 26 March, ending a process that began at the start of this month, whilst also severing its partnership with the Team Spirit esports franchise. 

The firm, based in Cyprus but founded in Kyiv, made the decision to close its Russian operations in February after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, initiating the window on 1 March.

Russian firm Betring, which operated the Parimatch brand in the country, was notified of the changes, and so Parimatch advertising materials, symbols, colours, global ambassadors, and slogans will no longer be available for use in Russia. 

“The war that Russia started against the Ukrainian people and state made it unacceptable for us to use the brand and tech solutions in Russia,” said Roman Syrotian, Co-CEO at Parimatch Tech.

“We stopped the support of all processes on operational and technical levels, and we withdrew the Parimatch brand. From now on, we will not be working or partnering with any Russian companies.”

Citing its Ukrainian roots, Parimatch has repeatedly condemned Russia’s military action in its founding country – as well as ending its operations in Russia, the firm has also made financial contributions to aid and defence spending – doubling its contributions from UAH 30 million to 60 million two weeks ago. 

As well as closing its franchise, the Parimatch Tech platform is also no longer operational in Russia, meaning its general and exclusive technology solutions are unavailable to operators in the country. 

Maksym Liashko, Co-CEO at Parimatch Tech, added: “The board’s decision to leave the Russian market is unanimous, definitive, and implemented on all levels. From here on out, any presence of the Parimatch brand in Russia will be considered as a violation of the intellectual property. 

“This is not a rebranding or restyling. This is a complete shutdown from the franchise. We have no ties or connections to any further Betring activities.”

Lastly, Parimatch has also severed ties with any Russian ambassadors, including its partnership with esports team Team Spirit – a collaboration which has been in place since 2019. 

The company stated that it “favours esports as one of the promising development vectors for betting companies”, but that the cancellation of its deal with Team Spirit marked the “next step” in its Russian withdrawal plans. 

Parimatch has, however, acknowledged that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Team Spirit initiated a relocation to Belgrade, Serbia, and has now fully completed the migration of its operations to the southeast European nation. 

Parimatch’s Head of Esports, Stepan Shulga, remarked: “We have no mutual claims because all agreement terms were fulfilled throughout the partnership. But, given the difficulties of operating during the war, we consider this solution the only one possible.”