It’s been seven months since the war in Ukraine broke out. In this time, we’ve seen communities across the world come together to show their support for the Ukrainian people – whether that be through displaying the flag on their website, raising funds or stopping business in both Russia and Belarus.
On 23 September, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska took the podium at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to launch a new global charity fund.
The aim, she explained, is to “restore the human capital of Ukraine so that every citizen feels physically and mentally healthy and protected, and can exercise their right to education, work, and build a future in their native country”.
That same night, TVBET CEO Peter Korpusenko spoke at the SBC Awards in Barcelona, where he presented his company’s new charitable fund – the Bet on Good Foundation. This aims to support Ukraine and intends to bring together representatives of the igaming industry from all over the world to concentrate their fundraising efforts and “make good stronger”.
Speaking to SBC News, Korpusenko walks us through the decision to launch the new foundation, telling us about its mission and plans for the future.
SBC: Your speech at the SBC Awards was very well received by those in attendance! It was great to see the support that people were giving for the Ukrainian people. How do you feel about this reaction?
PK: Hello Erin! What can I say – I am proud to be part of this market. Over the last seven months, we have seen the support of many companies from all over the world, especially, of course, from the Baltic countries, Poland and Great Britain. I also saw that you wrote about this situation and provided your platform for raising such serious issues.
SBC: Since the Awards, have there been any companies that have expressed their desire to become partners of the fund?
PK: Yes, definitely! After the speech, applications to join the foundation immediately appeared on our website. Moreover, many more people approached me and expressed their concern about the Ukrainian issue and their readiness to support our initiative. Right now, I’d like to keep the exact details close to my chest, but believe me, you will soon know about everything.
SBC: Listening to your speech, we learnt that you want to unite representatives of the global igaming industry to help Ukraine. How do you go about joining the fund? And what will the funds raised be used for?
PK: Yes, our key idea is to focus the efforts of our entire market on solving the most pressing problems of our time. Today, this problem is the war in Ukraine: this includes a catastrophic humanitarian crisis created by the war, just like the need of the Ukrainian military for such things as winter uniforms, food and much more.
Now we are forming a council within our fund, which any representative of our partner company can join so that together we can decide on the distribution of funds for specific support formats. Together with our partners, we will also promote and highlight the foundation’s activities to attract more attention and support in the future.
SBC: What has the foundation achieved so far? And what more can we expect?
PK: So far, we have launched our website, betongood.foundation, where people can apply to show their support. Together with TVBET, we have also been purchasing cars for the Ukrainian army – this is something I will tell you more about very soon.
We spoke at your event and urged people to show their support for Ukraine. We are in active communication with existing and potential partners – so there is much more to come.
SBC: Obviously, everyone is hoping that the war comes to an end very soon and peace is restored. What will this mean for the Bet on Good Foundation? Will fund still be used to help Ukraine, or do you have other plans?
PK: We will definitely help Ukraine rebuild the destroyed cities. Just to put this into context, more than 24,000 civilian buildings (schools, hospitals, residential buildings, shopping centres) have been destroyed due to rocket attacks carried out by Russia. Around 90% of missile strikes have fallen on civilian targets compared to the 10% that have fallen on military targets. Just think about these horrendous figures!
We will help Ukraine in every way we can. When it becomes possible to focus on new projects, we will definitely do this and thereby expand the activities of our Bet on Good Foundation.
SBC: We wish you success in your endeavour to support Ukraine! To wrap up, can you tell our readers how they can contact you regarding the fund and where they can see you next time to ask questions in person?
PK: Thank you! Once again, I want to say that this support is very important for me, my colleagues and the Ukrainian people. You have no idea how much we appreciate it.
For those in whose hearts there is a desire to help, be sure to visit our website – betongood.foundation. You can learn more about our foundation on the website and leave your application to join the fund. We will contact you very quickly!
And we will be able to meet at SiGMA, which will take place in Malta, on November 14-18, 2022. We will have stands for both TVBET and for Bet on Good Foundation. So I will be very happy to chat!