1xbet

Last updated

1xBet
1xbetlogo.png
Type of business Franchising
Type of site
Private
Available inEnglish
Russian
Founded2007
Headquarters
Limassol
,
Cyprus
Area servedInternational
Key peopleAlex Sommers (spokesperson) [1]
Industry Online gambling
Services Online betting & gaming
Employees5000 (2022) [2]
Subsidiaries 1xbetaffiliates, partners1xbet
URL 1xbet.com

1xBet is an online gambling company licensed by Curaçao eGaming License. It was founded in 2007, is based in Cyprus, and licensed in Curacao. [3]

Contents

The organisation operates a franchise business model. [4] Following revelations into the company's finances, it is not allowed to operate in a variety of countries [5] including the US, UK, Russia, France and Spain. International arrest warrants have been issued for the company's three founders, one of whom reportedly died in Switzerland in 2023. [3] Amid these controversies, the company changed its focus to Africa, South America and India. [6]

1xBet is one of the world's largest online casinos, accepting bets on amateur sporting events, including children's sports, broadcast live on its website. [3] The company has also accepted betting on cockfighting. [3] Despite the controversial nature of the company, it is a sponsor of FC Barcelona until 2029 and Paris Saint-Germain until 2025. [3]

History

The company was founded in Russia by Roman Semiokhin, Dmitry Kazorin, and a former Russian intelligence agent named Sergey Karshkov (d. June 2023). [6] By 2021, their company had made more than US$655 mln in illegal gambling. [3]

In March 2020, 1xBet confirmed the company's expansion into the Mexican market following its approval for an operational licence. The company also announced its plan to focus on the esports betting market within the Latin American country. [7]

In March 2022, 1xBet expanded into the Chilean market by signing a partnership agreement with the Chilean football championship, with the company becoming part of the 138 matches of the 2022 season. [8]

In June 2023, 1xBet was named 'Sportsbook Operator of the Year' at the SiGMA Americas Awards. [9]

In October 2023, Congolese musician Maître Gims became an ambassador for 1xBet. [10]

As of November 2023, the 1xBet gaming platform is visited by more than 3 million registered users each month. [11]

In December 2023, 1xBet began offering Cameroonian bettors the option of receiving winnings in cash and placing bets online, offline, or choosing a hybrid option. The company provides multiple payment methods and betting markets to cater to different preferences and enhance the overall convenience for users. [12]

In March 2024, 1xBet reduced the minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts for clients in the Republic of Congo. [13]

Despite criminal prosecution in several countries, 1xBet secures major sponsorship contracts, for example, it remains the sponsor of FC Barcelona until 2029 and sponsors FC Paris Saint-Germain in seasons 2022–25. As of 2024, the monthly average number of visitors to its platform exceeds 5 mln, the company has passed the first round of license applications to legally operate in Brazil. [3]

Controversies

Following an investigation by The Sunday Times in 2019, 1xBet's licence was rescinded by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) after revelations of involvement ‘promoting a "pornhub casino’, bets on children's sports and cockfighting, and advertising on illegal websites." [14] [15] [3]

1xBet features on Russia's payment processor and Federal Tax Service blacklist. [16] [17]

In 2024, Bellingcat and the platform Josimar reported that 1xBet allegedly organized thousands of live-streamed amateur games involving fake teams and children as young as 14 years old. [18] [19]

Criminal investigation

In early 2020, awareness was raised of an unlawful practice, [20] an international arrest warrant was issued by Russian authorities. [3] Later, in August 2020, the Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Russian Bryansk Region released the names of the supposed creators of 1xBet. These are "Sergey Karshkov", "Roman Semiokhin" and "Dmitry Kazorin". [21] All three have Cypriot citizenship. [20] The trio are suspected of organizing the online bookmaker 1xBet, and are defendants in a criminal case, with penalty of imprisonment. A number of estates in Russia with a total value of 1.5 billion rubles were seized. [21]

In 2021, Parlan Law Firm announced a search for victims of 1xBet in Russia. The company has organized a service for filing applications to the investigative committee. They filed a lawsuit against the owner of the Russian version of 1xBet – bookmaker 1xStavka. [22]

In 2023, Morocco's National Judicial Police Brigade (BNPJ) opened a mass investigation into 1xBet among other gambling websites on charges of operating an illegal gambling enterprise following a complaint by MDJS. [23] [3]

In November 2021 1xBet's subsidiary company, 1хCorр MV, filed for bankruptcy in a Curaçao court after it refused to refund a group of gamblers represented by the foundation for curaçao gaming victims. The company was declared bankrupt in June 2022 but continued to operate. [24] The individuals state that 1xBet structurally deniеs the legitimate wins of players with millions of euros in unpaid winnings. [25] In January 2023, 1xCorp MV was declared bankrupt by the Dutch Supreme Court in the Netherlands. [26] [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bookmaker</span> Organization or person that takes bets on sporting events

A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.

Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in Dublin, alongside a satellite office in Malta. In February 2016, Paddy Power merged with Betfair to create Flutter Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports betting</span> Form of gambling

Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Hill (bookmaker)</span> Bookmakers in the United Kingdom

William Hill is a British gambling company founded in 1934. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, with a satellite office in Malta. The company was previously listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Caesars Entertainment in April 2021. In July 2022, William Hill was subsequently bought by 888 Holdings for £2.2 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online gambling</span> Gambling done through the internet

Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos, and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994. Today, the market is worth around $40 billion globally each year, according to various estimates.

Evoke plc, formerly 888 Holdings Limited, is an international sports betting and gambling company. It owns brands such as 888casino, 888poker, 888sport, Mr Green, and William Hill. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, alongside satellite offices in Bucharest, Ceuta, Gibraltar, Leeds, Malta, Sofia, and Tel Aviv. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Playtech plc is a gambling software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betfred</span> UK bookmaker

Betfred Group Holdings Limited is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred Done. It was first established as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover in 2004 was reported to be more than £3.5 billion, having risen from £550 million in 2003 and has continued to grow to over £10 billion in 2018-2019. Following a drop in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid pandemic, published turnover for the year to September 2022 was £8.8 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambling Commission</span> UK statutory authority

The Gambling Commission is an executive, non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in Great Britain. Its remit covers arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, slot machines and lotteries, as well as remote gambling, but not spread betting. Free prize competitions and draws are free of the Commission's control under the "Gambling Act 2005".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sky Betting & Gaming</span> British-based gambling company

Bonne Terre Limited is a British-based gambling company, owned by Flutter Entertainment, with headquarters in Leeds, West Yorkshire and offices in Sheffield & Solihull. Sky Betting & Gaming consists of five core brands: Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinnacle Sports</span> Online gambling website

Pinnacle is an online gaming website that was founded in 1998. Since its inception, Pinnacle has become a medium-sized, fully licensed, online sportsbook. Pinnacle Sports rebranded to Pinnacle on June 1, 2016 after acquiring the pinnacle.com domain name.

Samvo Group specialized in program trading, bookmaking, sports betting brokerage services, betting cafés, igaming and peer-to-peer gaming. Samvo Group had offices located in London, Guernsey and Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qiwi</span> Russian electronic payment service

QIWI plc was a Russian company that provides payment and financial services in Russia and CIS countries. The group includes QIWI payment system, QIWI Bank, CONTACT money transfer system, Factoring PLUS, Flocktory, and RealWeb. The company has representative offices in three countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12Bet</span> Sports betting and casino company

12Bet is an online gambling brand that provides sports betting and casino products and services in multiple languages across Europe and Asia Pacific. 12BET is a well-known brand in Asia, ranking 17th globally according to eGaming Review Magazine's Annual Power 50Ranking.

Sportradar AG is a multinational corporation with headquarters in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that collects and analyzes sports data for bookmakers, national and international sports federations, and media companies. As of 2024, the company has 29 offices in 20 countries around the world, including New York City, Las Vegas, London, Trondheim, Munich, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Vienna, Ljubljana, Sydney, Montevideo, and Singapore.

Flutter Entertainment plc is an international sports betting and gambling company. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. It owns brands such as Betfair, FanDuel, Paddy Power, PokerStars, Sky Betting & Gaming, and Sportsbet. Flutter is the world's largest online betting company.

Entain plc, formerly GVC Holdings, is an international sports betting and gambling company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It owns brands such as bwin, Coral, Ladbrokes, PartyPoker and Sportingbet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unibet</span> Online gambling company

Unibet is a sports betting, online casino, bingo and online poker platform. Unibet is a part of Kindred Group–an online gambling operator which consists of 11 brands along with Maria Casino, Stan James, www.vladcazino.ro, 32Red, and iGame. Today, Unibet has over 1,600 employees and offices in Malta, London, New York, and Gibraltar among others. Unibet launched its first online website in 1999, launched live betting service in 2003 and introduced mobile site in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parimatch</span> Cypriot sports betting company (1994–2023)

Parimatch is an international sports betting company that operates in Europe, with its headquarters located in Limassol, Cyprus

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umar Kremlev</span> Russian sports official

Umar Kremlev is a Russian sports functionary who has served as the President of the International Boxing Association (IBA) since 2020. He has been Secretary General and Member of the Executive Committee of the Boxing Federation of Russia since February 2017. In 2022, IBA members voted against holding an election, 106-36, allowing Kremlev to remain IBA president.

References

  1. ↑ Specter, Heidi (4 August 2019). "Interview with Alex Sommers, 1xBet Spokesperson: 'We're trying to create new products'". GamblingNews. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "1XBET renews Partnership with FC Barcelona".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Stream Teams: Battery Farming Sport For Bets". Bellingcat. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "Start a Betting Business With 1xBet Franchise | Bett-market". bett-market.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Belot, Henry (1 March 2024). "Cricket Australia paid to promote affiliate of controversial gambling company during Boxing Day Test". the Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  6. 1 2 Williams, Sean (15 September 2023). "The Wild Quest to Create a Fake Indian Cricket League ... That Was Just the Beginning". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "1xBet confirms Mexican expansion following license approval". 30 March 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "1xBet expands in Chile with football deal". agbrief.com. 22 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "1xBet named Sportsbook Operator of the Year in Latin America". Focus Gaming News | Latest Gambling Industry News & Updates. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Maître Gims devient nouvel ambassadeur de 1xBet". ouragan.cd. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  11. ↑ Nigeria, Politics (30 November 2023). "1xBet becomes Operator of the Year in Sport Betting in Nigeria". Politics Nigeria. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  12. ↑ BAFELI, Franck (5 December 2023). "Actualités CAMEROUN :: 1xBet te propose de parier en ligne et de recevoir les gains en espèces :: CAMEROON News". camer.be (in French). Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  13. ↑ "Réduction des montants de dépôt et de retrait : 1xBet répond aux besoins des clients du Congo". Les Echos du Congo Brazzaville (in French). 11 January 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  14. ↑ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon; Bacon, Lucy. "Premier League clubs accused over links with betting firm". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "FSB suspends 1xBet white label following Sunday Times investigation – EGR Intel". 12 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "UKGC Opens Probe into 1xBet UK Brand on Reported Regulatory Breaches". GamblingNews. 13 August 2019. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "What is the bookmaker 1XBet famous for? (rbc description)". www.rbc.ru. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  18. ↑ "Stream Teams: Battery Farming Sport For Bets". Bellingcat . 21 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  19. ↑ Auclair, Philippe; Brown, Andy; Kerr, Jack; Kunti, Sam; Menary, Steve (21 October 2024). "Child's play". Josimar. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  20. 1 2 Gm, Ebene Magazine- (10 December 2020). ". EbeneMagazine – RU – "The stars wear their symbols, but no one knows the owners": the main thing from the Forbes text about the founders of the bookmaker 1xBet.. ru". EBENE MAGAZINE (in French). Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  21. 1 2 "СК назвал подозреваемых в создании запрещенного букмекера 1XBet". РБК (in Russian). 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Клиент 1XBet подал в суд на букмекера и платежные системы Подробнее на РБК". rbc.ru. 22 June 2021. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  23. ↑ El Hourri, Abdelali (14 November 2023). "Plainte de la MDJS contre 1xBet : la BNPJ entre en scene". Medias24.
  24. ↑ "Russian gambling company bankrupt but still in business in Curaçao". www.curacaochronicle.com. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  25. ↑ Woerd, Frank Op de (18 August 2021). "Belangenbehartiger doet aangifte tegen Curaçaose licentieverstrekker Cyberluck om fraude 1xBet". CasinoNieuws.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  26. ↑ Lars (20 January 2023). "Bankrupt and expanding". Josimarfootball.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  27. ↑ Davidson, David; Smits, Henk Willem; Koens, Remy (20 June 2023). "Crypto billions and illegal gambling sites: 'Russian' 1xBet conquers the world from Curaçao". Follow the Money – Platform for investigative journalism. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.