€600M illegal casino pipeline: How Soft2bet’s Uri Poliavich built an offshore empire behind a philanthropic facade
A year-long investigation by Investigate Europe and media partners in 15 countries uncovers a vast network of black-market betting websites operating throughout the continent and beyond.
A major gambling company celebrated for its ethical practices has profited hundreds of millions from unlicensed online casinos found to be targeting vulnerable players around Europe.
A trove of leaked payment statements shared with Investigate Europe reveals how Soft2bet and its partners received €600 million from entities operating offshore casinos that regulators have blacklisted for illegal gambling.
The documents, which run to thousands of pages, show money flowing from the casinos via a network of shell companies and payment agents to Soft2bet.
Investigate Europe also obtained screenshots of internal conversations and files appearing to show that the group and its partners now operate 145 blacklisted websites from sprawling offices in Malta and Cyprus.
Among the websites is Onlyspins, a sex-themed casino targeting European customers that doesn’t verify if users are over-18.
It is a far cry from the polished image Soft2bet has built with industry awards and prestigious sport sponsorships, and a business which publicly consists of 11 betting brands and software sales.
The year-long investigation, produced with media partners in 15 countries, found the casinos received millions of visits across Europe, despite being banned by regulators for not holding local licences. 
Onlyspins is among more than 100 casinos unlicensed in Europe found by the investigation to be connected to Soft2bet.
Investigate Europe also spoke to half a dozen people who have worked for Soft2bet. They claim that customer agents regularly delayed vulnerable users’ attempts to close their accounts and reactivated them after they had been shut. One former worker said they thought some of the casinos’ practices were “predatory”.
Rachel* spent £145,000 (€169,000) after customer agents ignored her requests to self-exclude from an unlicensed Soft2bet-linked casino in the UK. “I was so desperate and I felt so full of panic,” she told Investigate Europe. “It’s abuse of vulnerable people.”
Former workers with the company described to Investigate Europe a pressurised culture. Leaked messages from internal chat platforms suggest employees were asked to take lie detector tests by management.
It is an environment seemingly at odds with the public profile of Soft2bet and its charismatic founder Uri Poliavich, who also runs the Yael Foundation, a multi-million euro charity funding religious schools around the world.
“Uri Poliavich is a man of contradictions because on the one hand he shows himself like the Steve Jobs of i-gaming and a religious philanthropist, but then on the other, they are putting out brands that blend gambling and porn,” one former employee told Investigate Europe.
Sabine Verheyen, a Vice President of the European Parliament and critic of the sector, said that if confirmed, the findings are extremely worrying. She urged member states to cooperate more closely to clampdown on unlicensed operations.
“Illegal gambling is not a marginal phenomenon but a business on an industrial scale that is flourishing under the radar of the regulatory authorities in the European Union.”
— European lawmaker Sabine VerheyenCanadian gambling authorities, meanwhile, told reporters that they would investigate the findings relating to Soft2bet’s activities in the country.
In response to Investigate Europe and partners’ request for comment, Soft2bet denied any wrongdoing.
A statement from the company said: “We take compliance, governance and responsible business practices extremely seriously. Information within your request reflects an incorrect and misleading interpretation of our business and corporate structure.
“Our focus is on operating responsibly and in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. We maintain robust compliance and governance processes and engage constructively with the relevant authorities where appropriate.”
Bumper profits from unlicensed casinos
Ukrainian-Israeli businessman Poliavich created Soft2bet in 2016, capitalising off the rising popularity of online gambling. Over the next decade, Soft2bet established itself as a major supplier of back-end technology to the industry, and claims its software has 10 million users globally.
Today, the company also owns 11 casino and sports betting brands, from Greece and Sweden to Mexico and Canada. Two of its brands count Diego Simeone, manager of Spanish football giants Atlético Madrid, as an ambassador, while another is partnered with the Canadian Football League.
CEO Uri Poliavich founded Soft2bet in 2016. The company now claims to have 10 million users for its software.Source: YouTube
For years, though, Soft2bet and its partners discretely operated other websites through two shell companies: Araxio Development and Rabidi, Investigate Europe has found. Registered in Curaçao, a Caribbean tax haven granting cheap gambling licences, the offshore entities laid the foundations for a highly lucrative business.
Months after Soft2bet launched in 2016, Poliavich set-up Araxio. A few years later Rabidi was formed, this time through a former Soft2bet employee, corporate records show.
These offshore vehicles provided Curaçao licences for dozens of websites, away from the prying eyes of western regulators. Such licences are typically not recognised in Europe, where much stronger player protections exist. Soon, many of the websites were blacklisted by national authorities for targeting European customers illegally.
In parallel, two subsidiaries were established in Cyprus to handle payments on the casinos. The name Soft2bet did not appear anywhere.
Investigate Europe has now obtained thousands of pages of account statements from the two Cypriot entities which show the direct ties between Soft2bet and the network of unlicensed casinos.
The documents reveal that between May 2020 and May 2024 the Cypriot firms – Tranello and Tilaros – channelled €600 million to Soft2bet and its partners.
“Soft2bet has all these entities in the group but we are the same team.”
— A former Soft2bet employee
Transfers in the payment statements were often labelled as “marketing services” or “license agreement” with over €330 million going to companies owned by Poliavich. These included Outono, Soft2bet’s top holding at the time, and Brainrocket, the group’s casino development arm.
Tilaros, although not formally owned by Soft2bet, was used to pay the group’s then chief commercial officer and head of compliance, and its current chief legal counsel.
Millions more were funnelled to marketing and customer service businesses owned by Poliavich’s associates.
Leaked internal files, interviews with former staff and analysis of corporate records suggest that these marketing and customer support companies may operate as part of the group.
“Soft2bet has all these entities in the group but we are the same team,” an ex-employee from the marketing business told Investigate Europe. "Everyone is part of the same Slack [online chat] for internal communications.”
The corporate separation “seems to be decorative”, said Chris Kronow Rasmussen, Adjunct Professor of Investigations at the University of New Haven. “The defining feature of these structures is the braiding of legal and illegal activity,” he claimed.
For years, though, Soft2bet and its partners discretely operated other websites through two shell companies: Araxio Development and Rabidi, Investigate Europe has found. Registered in Curaçao, a Caribbean tax haven granting cheap gambling licences, the offshore entities laid the foundations for a highly lucrative business.
Months after Soft2bet launched in 2016, Poliavich set-up Araxio. A few years later Rabidi was formed, this time through a former Soft2bet employee, corporate records show.
These offshore vehicles provided Curaçao licences for dozens of websites, away from the prying eyes of western regulators. Such licences are typically not recognised in Europe, where much stronger player protections exist. Soon, many of the websites were blacklisted by national authorities for targeting European customers illegally.
In parallel, two subsidiaries were established in Cyprus to handle payments on the casinos. The name Soft2bet did not appear anywhere.
Investigate Europe has now obtained thousands of pages of account statements from the two Cypriot entities which show the direct ties between Soft2bet and the network of unlicensed casinos.
The documents reveal that between May 2020 and May 2024 the Cypriot firms – Tranello and Tilaros – channelled €600 million to Soft2bet and its partners.
“Soft2bet has all these entities in the group but we are the same team.”
— A former Soft2bet employee
Transfers in the payment statements were often labelled as “marketing services” or “license agreement” with over €330 million going to companies owned by Poliavich. These included Outono, Soft2bet’s top holding at the time, and Brainrocket, the group’s casino development arm.
Tilaros, although not formally owned by Soft2bet, was used to pay the group’s then chief commercial officer and head of compliance, and its current chief legal counsel.
Millions more were funnelled to marketing and customer service businesses owned by Poliavich’s associates.
Leaked internal files, interviews with former staff and analysis of corporate records suggest that these marketing and customer support companies may operate as part of the group.
“Soft2bet has all these entities in the group but we are the same team,” an ex-employee from the marketing business told Investigate Europe. "Everyone is part of the same Slack [online chat] for internal communications.”
The corporate separation “seems to be decorative”, said Chris Kronow Rasmussen, Adjunct Professor of Investigations at the University of New Haven. “The defining feature of these structures is the braiding of legal and illegal activity,” he claimed.
Payment statements from the two Cypriot shell companies showing transfers to companies owned by Soft2bet or its partners.Credit: Joanna Poupaki/Spoovio
Targeting vulnerable gamblers
According to several people who previously worked with Soft2bet, many of the blacklisted casinos operated alongside the company’s 11 licensed brands, but their customer agents used more aggressive marketing tactics.
“It was common practice to reopen the accounts of players who closed them due to addiction, and to start sending them SMS, emails, bonuses so they’d gamble again,” claimed a former marketing employee.
Investigate Europe has seen internal conversations where managers confirmed these practices and said reopening accounts was a commercial decision.
Similarly, players’ winnings were delayed so that they would gamble more, claims a former customer service agent, who would call over 200 new players a day from Soft2bet’s Cyprus office.
“I’ve seen instances where players were like, ’I’ve been trying to withdraw for two weeks, my rent is due, I can’t feed my kid.”
— An ex-marketing employee for Soft2betWhen approached for comment, Soft2bet did not address specific allegations but denied any wrongdoing.
Illegal online gambling generated more than €80 billion in revenue in 2024, representing 71 per cent of the total market across the EU, according to marketplace intelligence firm Yield Sec.
For gamblers like 48-year-old Stefan*, the lack of player protection was life-changing. The Austrian citizen, who runs an air-conditioning business, says he stole from his own firm to fund his gambling habit.
“Nobody asked me if I could afford it or where the money was from, even though I was using my company’s bank accounts,” said Stefan, who bankrupted both himself and his business after losing €70,000 on two unlicensed Soft2bet-linked casinos.
“I was gambling eight hours or more until the morning, I wouldn’t think about work the next day, the only thing that mattered was rolling the slots,” he said. “Gambling addiction affects your whole life, you become a pathological liar.”
Desperate players like Stefan took Araxio and Rabidi to court, unaware that Soft2bet was in fact connected to them. The two Cypriot subsidiaries were also sued by victims, court documents obtained by Investigate Europe reveal.
Judges in Austria and Germany sided with the plaintiffs and concluded that the casinos were not allowed to target customers in their countries. The four shell companies linked to Soft2bet were declared bankrupt in 2023 and 2024.
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