The online sports betting program 1XBet is officially bankrupt. Its status was upheld by the Netherlands Supreme Court, after a lower court in the island country of Curaçao first declared it bankrupt.
Although always controversial, 1XBet has been a high-profile partner with sports teams such as FC Barcelona in Spain and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in France.
It has also signed sponsorship deals in South America and Africa, usually in countries with loose regulations. It is also in business in India, where it has been accused of avoiding taxes.
But apparently its bottom line was hemorrhaging money, and in 2022 it ran out of cash. 1XCorp, which owns 1XBet, appealed the Curaçao court, which was dismissed by the Netherlands court.
The lawsuit was filed by the Foundation for Representation of Victims of Online Gaming, which claims its clients are owed $3.3 million in winnings by the company. No one knows precisely who the companies’ backers are, but Casino.org reports they are three Russian expatriates living in Cyprus.
They are alleged to have ties to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, but other sources have alleged that they are fugitives from Russia. No one knows for sure, says Casino.org.
For several years complaints about the company not paying winnings to customers have been common on social media.
Last fall the gaming regulator of Ukraine, KRAIL, accused 1XBet of mining user data through several shell platforms, possibly to steal money from bank accounts or identify potential kidnapping targets.
