Soft2Bet’s Empire: Inside Europe’s Blacklisted Gambling Network

Soft2Bet and Europe’s Blacklisted Gambling Network

Soft2Bet’s European network should be assessed through the relevant blacklists, licensing records and the evidence supporting any claim of regulatory non-compliance. This investigation distinguishes a listed domain, a corporate link and a proven legal breach. The UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and Malta Media’s related compliance analysis provide context.

A story that starts with a screen, a child and €400,000

I remember the first time I read Moshe’s story. Not his real name, of course. But the pain was real. He described walking to the park with his daughter while gambling on his phone. Not just a spin or two, but a full-blown compulsion that eventually cost him €400,000, a divorce and nine loans.

The site that pulled him in? Wazamba. A bright, sleek casino wrapped in gamified graphics and endless incentives. A few taps, a bit of hope and a whole life lost.

What Moshe didn’t know (what most of us didn’t know) is that Wazamba wasn’t some rogue platform. It was part of a sprawling ecosystem of over 140 casino sites allegedly linked to a company that many have never even heard of: Soft2Bet.

A curated image and a blacklisted backend

Visit the Soft2Bet website and you’ll see the usual fintech-casino hybrid vibe. White space. Buzzwords. It markets itself as a provider of tech solutions, not a casino operator. Just five visible brands. Nothing suspicious. But dig deeper and the façade cracks.

The investigation by Investigate Europe revealed a network of over 140 gambling sites that have been blacklisted in France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Hungary and more. At least 114 were confirmed banned by February 2025.

Not only do many of these sites appear connected to Soft2Bet via trademarks, IP records and hosting data, but several were directly promoted or operated through companies linked to Soft2Bet’s founder, Uri Poliavich.

And that’s where the problem begins. These weren’t just fly-by-night websites. Some (like Boomerang, which struck a deal with AC Milan) secured high-profile sponsorships even while being banned in half a dozen countries. It’s one thing to operate in a grey area. It’s quite another to allegedly operate across 27 countries in open defiance of national laws.

Bankruptcy by design?

Two companies, Rabidi N.V. and Araxio Development N.V., played pivotal roles in this network. Rabidi alone turned over €343 million in 2022. Both were based in Curaçao, a jurisdiction famous for looking the other way when it comes to gambling enforcement.

When players like Moshe sued in court and won (judges in Germany and Austria ruled these operators had to refund their losses) both companies quietly declared bankruptcy. Their assets? Magically gone. Transferred, relocated or otherwise erased from reach.

What wasn’t public then is now increasingly clear: both Rabidi and Araxio were tightly linked to Soft2Bet and its founder. Rabidi belonged to Poliavich’s associate, Denys Butko, while Araxio was held through Outono Ltd, a Cypriot entity Soft2Bet controlled. Social media photos, company filings and property records all paint a picture of close collaboration between the two men, both of whom were involved in setting up hundreds of gambling URLs over several years.

When the shells start to move

In late 2023 and early 2024, as lawsuits mounted and regulators circled, the network underwent a clever reshuffling. Shell companies in the Marshall Islands took over, trademarks were shifted to Dubai-based Genetix FZE and Anjouan became the new preferred licensing location.

If Curaçao was lax, Anjouan is virtually invisible. A permit from this Indian Ocean Island does not allow access to EU markets. And yet, many of the previously blacklisted Soft2Bet-related sites continue to operate with these licences, targeting the same audiences they were legally prohibited from reaching.

Still, Soft2Bet claims innocence. “We categorically deny the baseless allegations and misleading insinuations,” they told Investigate Europe, insisting they are a “strictly regulated company” and any accusations of impropriety are “entirely false.”

Affiliates get the short end of the deal

It’s not just the players who’ve been hurt. Affiliates, those third-party marketers who drive traffic in exchange for a revenue share, have been complaining for years.

One whistleblower who contacted us shared their experience: they were promised lifetime revenue share agreements for promoting specific Soft2Bet brands. But shortly after, Soft2Bet allegedly migrated those players to new brands, without tracking IDs. Affiliates were cut out. Their commissions? Gone.

It’s an old trick in shady digital marketing circles. In gambling, though, it turns something already ethically questionable into a potential case of calculated deception.

A continent’s regulatory gap

So how does this all keep happening? Because the European Union doesn’t have a unified framework for online gambling. Each member state enforces its own rules, issues its own licences and fights its own battles.

The result? Companies with strong legal teams and smart corporate structuring can play countries off one another like chess pieces.

Yield Sec, a digital market monitoring firm, warns that the legal industry we see is only the tip of the iceberg. The real money (the criminal money) moves beneath the surface. Fast. Disguised. Layered through jurisdictions like Cyprus, Malta, Curaçao and the Marshall Islands. All while players like Moshe are left picking up the pieces of their lives.

Soft2Bet’s shiny surface, darker depths

Let’s be clear. Soft2Bet has a polished, award-winning surface. Its offices in Malta were inaugurated by Malta’s Economy Minister. Its founder, Mr Poliavich, was named “leader of the year” at an industry summit. But the surface matters little when what’s beneath it appears to tell another story entirely.

Trademarks registered in Cyprus and Dubai. Affiliate programmes managed through Gibraltar. Real estate acquisitions in Panama. Licensing in Curaçao and Anjouan.

And operations in countries where none of this is legal.

Yet somehow, despite over 100 of their websites being blacklisted, despite fines in Spain and rulings in Germany and Austria, Soft2Bet continues to operate. And it’s not just them. It’s the enablers, too.

Gibraltar-based law firms, Cypriot corporate agents, offshore nominee directors, payment processors and affiliate managers. All part of the machine. All equally shielded by structural opacity.

The cost isn’t just money

For players, the cost isn’t just financial. It’s mental health, family breakdown and years of recovery. One Finnish gambler told Investigate Europe he lost €120,000. “I think about suicide nine out of ten days,” he said. Another simply called the casino a “life destroyer.”

And yet, platforms linked to the very people who profited from these losses continue to thrive.

As of this writing, Soft2Bet is launching a new brand in Greece, even though 55 of its other domains are blacklisted by the Greek regulator. The Hellenic Gaming Commission insists it reviewed the case and found no direct connection between Soft2Bet and Rabidi.

Maybe legally. But factually? Well, readers can decide.

Time to stop pretending

There’s something fundamentally broken here. Not just with Soft2Bet. With the entire enforcement ecosystem. Because if a company can build an empire of blacklisted sites, be taken to court, shift the assets, declare bankruptcy, rename the brands, open new ones and still get new licences, then who’s really in control?

Governments across Europe need to stop pretending that this is just about a few rogue operators. It’s not. It’s about a business model. One that profits from addiction, thrives in secrecy and depends on weak enforcement to survive.

RightNow, a German firm helping victims reclaim their funds, summed it up best: “There’s no good way to track them. It’s crazy that companies can just close and reopen legal entities and move funds around.”

It is crazy. But it’s also real.

And unless regulators, investigators and lawmakers treat this with the seriousness it demands, Soft2Bet and companies like it will keep doing what they’ve been doing since 2016: getting away with it.

FAQs

What is Soft2Bet and why is it controversial?
Soft2Bet is a casino platform provider linked to over 140 gambling websites, many of which have been blacklisted across Europe for allegedly operating illegally.

Which countries have banned Soft2Bet-related casino sites?
At least 114 of these sites were banned in countries like France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, and Greece as of February 2025.

Who is behind Soft2Bet?
The company was founded by Uri Poliavich, who is also linked to multiple shell companies and affiliated entities operating gambling brands globally.

What is Wazamba and how did it harm players?
Wazamba is a flashy online casino allegedly tied to Soft2Bet, known for luring users like “Moshe” into compulsive gambling, leading to severe financial and personal loss.

How do companies like Rabidi N.V. and Araxio Development fit into this?
These companies, based in Curaçao, ran many of the blacklisted sites and declared bankruptcy after court rulings, making it nearly impossible for victims to recover funds.

What tactics did Soft2Bet allegedly use to avoid legal consequences?
They reshuffled operations using shell companies, moved trademarks offshore, and acquired dubious licenses from places like Anjouan to keep operating in banned markets.

How were gambling affiliates affected?
Many affiliates were promised lifetime commissions, only to be cut off when Soft2Bet allegedly migrated users to new platforms without tracking data.

Why is EU regulation failing to stop this?
The lack of a unified legal framework across EU member states allows gambling operators to exploit loopholes and shift operations across jurisdictions with weak oversight.

Has Soft2Bet responded to these allegations?
Yes, Soft2Bet denies all allegations, claiming to be a strictly regulated company and labeling reports as misleading and false.

What is the real cost of these illegal gambling networks?
Beyond financial loss, the human toll includes mental health deterioration, family breakdowns, and even suicidal thoughts, as shared by some affected gamblers.