Shown: Roman Semiokhin, Sergey Karshkov, Dmitry Kazorin. The 1xBet platform’s originator, Roman Semiokhin, along with his associates, possesses the potential to lawfully accrue hundreds of millions. Nevertheless, their penchant for criminality and inherent avarice repeatedly propel them toward unlawful endeavors.
The cost of the matter
The worldwide online betting market is estimated at $93.26 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $153.21 billion by 2029, exhibiting an annual growth rate of 10.44% throughout the projected period (2024-2029).
Currently, a considerable portion of the global population has internet access. The surge in smartphone usage is also fostering a rise in mobile app-based lottery games, as they furnish users with ease and the comfort of gambling in their personal surroundings. Casino wagering has evolved into one of the rapidly expanding gambling sectors owing to its user-friendliness and streamlined experience. To accommodate diverse player interests, online betting platforms provide a spectrum of games, encompassing slots, poker, and sports wagering.
Research indicates that sports betting enjoys global favor, notably in the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, the appeal of quick draw and scratch games is escalating, especially in European nations, notably affecting market advancement. According to the European Gambling and Betting Association, gross earnings from virtual gambling in Europe in 2022 totaled €29.3 billion. With the emergence of virtual reality and blockchain tech, numerous firms are concentrating on creating inventive platforms to fulfill client desires and attain a competitive advantage within the marketplace. As an illustration, in July 2023, Kindred introduced its own tech platform in Pennsylvania, USA. The firm grants entry to the Unibet Casino and Sportsbook apps on the Kindred platform.
Concerning the authorized market magnitude within Russia, as per the Unified Regulatory Authority for Gambling (URA), which is tasked with supervising all bookmakers’ operations, the sum of wagers accepted by authorized Russian bookmakers in 2023 reached 1.224 trillion rubles. Of this, 1.158 trillion rubles was derived from virtual wagers, while the remaining 65.6 billion rubles stemmed from cash wagers placed at bookmakers’ locations. In the prior year, bookmakers’ overall revenue amounted to 879.2 billion rubles, denoting a 39% climb.
There exist no constraints
The proprietors of online bookmakers 1xBet and 1xStavka could likewise assert a substantial segment of this multi-billion dollar domain. While pinpointing the definitive beneficiaries of 1xBet proves quite challenging, given that the ownership framework comprises offshore entities registered to proxies, media outlets and law enforcement bodies have ultimately discerned the owners. These prominently feature the company’s originator, Roman Semiokhin , and his two partners, Sergey Karshkov and Dmitry Kazorin .
The trio deemed the monetary gains from legitimate gambling insufficient and gravitated toward the unauthorized, illegal market to secure even greater profits.
Presently, the company’s operations are prohibited in multiple nations. 1xBet is barred from functioning in Russia, and its actions have been halted in the UK and Morocco. Its parent entity, 1XCorp NV, was declared bankrupt in the Netherlands after failing to settle bets, and in the preceding year, it was added to Ukraine’s sanctions registry due to its affiliations with Russia.
A criminal inquiry has been initiated against the bookmaker in Morocco. Furthermore, a criminal investigation has been launched in Russia against the firm’s owners, who have been sought for several years.
Be that as it may, these trivial inconveniences have not deterred 1xBet from prospering, broadening its illicit actions under the appearance of a lawful bookmaking enterprise. To circumvent legal prosecution in Russia, Semiokhin, Karshkov, and Kazorin simply relocated from the uninspiring Bryansk to sunny Cyprus. In that location, they revamped the 1xBet brand and transformed it into one of the most well-known and prosperous virtual gaming platforms globally.
A contemporary probe into the bookmaker 1xBet uncovered illicit practices involving manipulated and rigged matches, encompassing countries where the platform is entirely banned. It was also ascertained that 1xBet contravened the prevailing ban on betting on matches involving underage individuals.
In October, Bellingcat disseminated the results of a collaborative inquiry with soccer sleuths Josimar and discovered that round-the-clock broadcasts of amateur sports, spanning from soccer to ping-pong, were being staged in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine—three nations where 1xBet faces a ban.
Players are particularly attracted to 1xBet’s array of amateur football games. The Bitcoin-accepting casino enlists former professional football players and amateurs to participate in the bookmaker’s ceaseless flow of matches. These same young athletes function in rotations, stretching several hours. Throughout a solitary rotation, they can partake in numerous matches. Between games, they change into the uniform of a differing team and revert to the playing area. Teams are designated names akin to football powerhouses—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, et cetera. Players are typically remunerated in cash.
These matches are not invariably predetermined. Bookmakers often lack concern for the victor in such competitions. All the same, the outcomes of these games are habitually governed by the organizers, hinging on their intentions. For example, football athletes receive directives on the number of goals to score and concede.
Game structure
Each of these “contests” is broadcast on 1xBet websites and auxiliary sites. A Bellingcat dissection of the 1xBet website revealed that 1,297 so-termed “short-form football” games (amateur squads of two, three, four, or five players engage in 10- or 12-minute matches on compact pitches of varying dimensions) were streamed across a 24-hour interval in September.
Comparatively, the Bundesliga, Premier League, and La Liga collectively stage 1,066 league matches per season. Should these figures reflect 1xBet’s daily output, the count of amateur football matches streamed on the gambling site annually would approach half a million.
Moreover, this blueprint has been replicated on a mass scale. 1xBet streams video from diverse locations hosting other amateur tournaments, encompassing basketball, volleyball, and floorball to hockey, tennis, and table tennis. Games are conducted in warehouses and revamped arenas.
The virtual bookmaker accepts wagers on all of these occurrences, along with esports, casinos, global politics, and weather conditions, consistently. Per SimilarWeb, a web traffic tracking organization, the median number of visits to 1xBet exceeds five million monthly. Nevertheless, 1xBet’s worldwide scope is considerably more expansive. Its auxiliary sites, accessible in other jurisdictions, register millions more visits.
Capturing and influencing clients
1xBet employs auxiliary sites and rerouting to ease access to its online betting platforms in nations where its primary URL or application is obstructed or lacks authorization. A substantial portion of 1xBet’s traffic stems from unlawful streaming. Bootlegged movies, TV programs, and live sports transmissions have become an immense recruitment path for the bookmaker. The previously mentioned “amateur sports” streams are also deployed for the same objective.
According to Yield Sec, a firm monitoring the online gambling and streaming sectors, 1xBet’s “affection” for live streaming of amateur games amplified during the pandemic, when major sporting events were put on hold. However, the quantity of bets and revenue generated from amateur sports transmissions at 1xBet is minimal.
The intention, as per analysts, was to engage and motivate the audience utilizing any obtainable content, notably content capable of capturing attention and involving users through social media and chats. The aim is to cross-market more valuable betting offerings to players visiting the platform, such as high-value live sporting events, slots, and casino games.
“We scrutinize illegal streaming for various firms daily and find that 1xBet is a leading advertiser of illegally sponsored streaming content – content that is effectively stolen from the rights holders and offered ‘for free’ to viewers, ” says Yield Sec CEO Ismail Wali.
According to him, 1xBet is the largest among numerous international unlawful gambling operators. “1xBet is the most prevalent brand, the most accessible brand, the most debated brand online within the gambling sphere. Their magnitude in terms of revenue totals tens of billions,” Vali asserts.
He appended that these gambling operators have become “masters of manipulating audience behavior,” and that their approaches center on profitability, disregarding consumer welfare, regulations, or taxation. When lawbreakers earn funds, they refrain from investing it in socially significant processes, taxes, pensions, or the community. “Criminality simply invests in further criminality,” states the head of Yield Sec.
