Favbet Bookmaker

⚠ Editorial warning. The bookmaker license of Favbet was terminated by a PlayCity decision on January 27, 2026, the legal entity is in the process of being wound up, and the official website returns a 503 error. Payouts have not been going through since November 2025. The operator is now an unlicensed bookmaker: it has been moved to the unlicensed bookmakers section, but it is not included in the ranking, and this page is published as an analysis of the situation, not as a recommendation. Do not make a deposit and do not submit any documents.

Affiliate disclosure: the links on this page are affiliate links. In this case the operator received one of the lowest scores and is excluded from the ranking: the methodology is the same for everyone, and positions are not for sale.

Favbet is a Ukrainian bookmaker brand whose history began in 1999 with land-based betting shops. Its legal online business was run by Bookmaker Company FAVBET LLC. The platform combined sports, esports, a casino and poker in a single account.

As of August 2026, Favbet does not hold a valid Ukrainian license and cannot legally accept bets. The JoyFactory team checked the regulator’s decisions, the status of the legal entity, the availability of the domain and the historical figures for the betting line, payments and support.

The situation at a glance

Favbet is not suitable for a new registration, a deposit or a sports bet in Ukraine. Historically it was a strong bookmaker with a wide football line, a low margin on top matches and a fast Cash Out. But the terminated license, the winding-up of the legal entity and the blocked payouts completely outweigh these advantages.

We do not recommend topping up your Favbet account through old apps, alternative domains or links from advertising pages. Without a valid license, a new bet is not protected by the Ukrainian regulator’s mechanisms.

What we checked

The review was prepared by Dmytro Kolesnikov, JoyFactory’s bookmaker author. The regulatory status and documents were verified by Valeriia Prykhodko, our in-house lawyer.

We did not create a new account or make a deposit: with the license terminated, a financial test cannot be justified from a safety standpoint. Instead, we checked current access, the regulatory status and archived figures.

For the historical figures, we used the ranges stated by Favbet and publicly available cases, reducing them to estimated averages. These are not our own measurements: this is a reconstruction of how the platform worked before it ceased operations.

The current result is clear: the sports section is unavailable, there is no valid bookmaker license, and a real deposit cannot be justified. Historically, the line and the odds were Favbet’s strong points, but as of August 2026 they do not make up for the regulatory and payment risk.

License and the main risk

Bookmaker Company “FAVBET” LLC received its bookmaker license under decision No. 433 of December 13, 2022. It allowed the company to accept bets online and operate within Ukrainian law.

On January 27, 2026, PlayCity adopted decision No. 23-R to terminate the license. The grounds were an application filed by Favbet itself on January 16, 2026. The decision took effect immediately, and banks were to be notified that the bookmaker business had ceased.

JoyFactory lawyer Valeriia Prykhodko points to a common mistake: Favbet stopped being legal not in April, when the license would have expired automatically, but back on January 27, 2026. Claims that license No. 433 was still valid after that date are outdated, although they can still be found on third-party websites.

Since April 2, 2026, Bookmaker Company “FAVBET” LLC has been in the process of being wound up. Some other legal entities of the group have also gone through regulatory and court proceedings, but their licenses should not be confused with this company’s bookmaker permit.

What this means for players. Without a valid license, you cannot turn to PlayCity in the event of a dispute, whether over a blocked payout or over access to your account. This is not a theoretical risk: such complaints started at the end of 2025.

What happened to payouts

At the end of 2025, users began reporting en masse that withdrawals were unavailable, first to Visa and then to Mastercard. On its official pages, Favbet acknowledged temporary problems with deposits and withdrawals.

A telling detail: deposits were still being credited faster than withdrawals were processed. It was this gap between deposits that worked and cashouts that were blocked that became the main reason for negative complaints.

As of August 2026, Favbet’s response has not removed the main risk: there is no valid bookmaker license, and the legal entity is being wound up.

Historical betting line and markets

Before it ceased operations, Favbet offered more than 45 sports. The core of the line was football, tennis, basketball, hockey, volleyball, handball, combat sports and American football.

Bets were also accepted on baseball, rugby, futsal, snooker, cricket, chess, Formula 1, cycling, biathlon, alpine skiing, darts, table tennis, golf, lacrosse and floorball. The esports line covered Dota 2, Counter-Strike, League of Legends, StarCraft II, Rainbow Six, Fortnite, Rocket League and Warcraft III.

Football had the deepest market list: top matches offered hundreds of markets, including main results, double chance, totals, European and Asian handicaps, correct score, team statistics and individual player props.

According to archived data, the market depth looked like this:

• top football match: hundreds of options;
• ATP or WTA tennis: 80 markets on average;
• NBA game: about 50 markets;
• niche sports: winner, handicap, total and a few additional outcomes.

A separate “Special bets” section offered wagers on non-sports events: award ceremonies, TV shows and political events.

Historical margin

Based on historical figures, Favbet’s odds were competitive: a 3% margin on Champions League matches matches the best offers on the Ukrainian market.

However, in August 2026 these numbers have no practical value for players: legal bookmaker operations have ceased, and placing a bet is impossible because the website is unavailable.

Historical bonuses

Before it shut down, Favbet advertised sports packages of up to UAH 275,000 on the first deposits. The exact breakdown depended on the deposit amount, the bet type, the odds and the wagering period. Bonus funds could not be withdrawn right away: to move them to the main balance, you had to meet the turnover requirement.

In the past, there were promotions for major football tournaments, free bets, bonuses on system bets, cashback and boosted odds. Some promotions applied to both sports and the casino.

All old welcome offers became irrelevant once the bookmaker license was terminated. Banners, promo codes and mentions of the package of up to UAH 275,000 should not be treated as a current offer. Even if a banner or promo code is available on a third-party domain, that does not confirm the offer is legal.

Cashier before the shutdown

Funds could only be withdrawn to a verified Visa or Mastercard card belonging to the account holder. Terminal deposits also required completed identification.

We do not recommend testing whether the cashier works with a deposit of your own. Without a valid license, the risk of losing your money far outweighs any possible benefit of testing.

Apps and risks

Favbet had apps for Android and iOS. The iPhone version was installed from the App Store, the Android client via an installation file from the official website. The apps gave access to sports, live betting, the bet slip, the casino, poker, bonuses, the cashier and support.

Important: an old app may remain installed on your smartphone and even open some sections. This does not mean Favbet has regained its license or is accepting bets legally.

Installing an APK from unofficial websites is particularly dangerous. The file may contain a modified payment module, collect card details or redirect the user to a phishing domain. With the official website down, such fakes become more common.

Support

Before the shutdown, Favbet support was available via 24/7 live chat, e-mail, a Telegram bot, phone and social media. Phone calls were free for users in Ukraine.

Based on published waiting times (1, 2, 3 and 10 minutes), the estimated average time to reach an agent was 4 minutes. But after November 2025, a quick connection did not mean a quick resolution: on payout issues, users were told about technical work with no specific timeframe.

A warning about temporary difficulties with deposits and withdrawals appeared on the official Favbet pages, and phone support was marked as temporarily unavailable.

Support can help you obtain your transaction history or register a complaint, but it does not replace the state regulator and does not guarantee the return of a blocked balance.

What to do if money is left on your balance

Steps to take if you have funds you could not withdraw:

1. take screenshots of your balance, transaction history and all withdrawal requests;
2. keep your correspondence with support, with dates;
3. file an official complaint through the operator’s available channels and keep proof that it was sent;
4. keep in mind that a complaint to PlayCity about bookmaker operations after the license was terminated has limited prospects;
5. for large amounts, it makes sense to consult a lawyer about a claim against a legal entity that is being wound up.

If you have faced this situation, write to us via the contact page. We take real cases into account when reviewing our ratings.

Historically, Favbet had a strong football line, a competitive margin and a convenient mobile product, which is why the scores for the line and the app are not zero. But the terminated bookmaker license, the winding-up of the legal entity, the unavailable website and the blocked payouts make the platform unfit for new bets.

About the exclusion from the ranking. Scores of 1.0 for safety and payouts are well below the blocking threshold of our methodology, and there is no valid license. That is why Favbet is not included in our bookmaker ranking: this page is an analysis of the situation, not a recommendation.

You can see who worked on this review on our editorial team page.

Changelog

12.10.2026 — scheduled update: content refresh and fact-checking.

09.10.2026 — scheduled update: content refreshed and data fact-checked.

05.08.2026 — first publication of the review. Dmytro Kolesnikov checked the availability of three sections of the website and compiled archived figures for the betting line, margin and payout times; Valeriia Prykhodko verified PlayCity decision No. 23-R on terminating the license and the status of the legal entity, and refuted the claim that license No. 433 was still valid. The operator is excluded from the bookmaker ranking. The next status check is in one month.