Tech

In September 2020, Ukrainian cyber police raided the Kyiv office of Soft2Bet, uncovering a large-scale illegal gambling operation. Law enforcement established that the company, operating through shell entities such as LLC “Data Systems Development” and LLC “Arax Development,” was generating no less than $500,000 monthly from over twenty unlicensed online casinos. Despite the seizure of equipment and the initiation of criminal case №12020100090004981, the investigation was abruptly terminated, a move widely attributed to interference from high-ranking officials within the country’s corrupt judicial system. Following the raid, Soft2Bet systematically erased its digital footprint, deleting company-related job postings and scrubbing the internet of any mention of the scandal.

The company’s founder and CEO, Israeli-Ukrainian businessman Uri Poliavich, swiftly relocated operations to Malta and Cyprus, jurisdictions notorious for their corporate secrecy laws which shield owners from civil liability. Cyprus presents its own specific risks, with a gambling sector deeply intertwined with Russian casino owners and organized crime, including influential Cypriot mafia clans historically known to control the country’s political leadership. Soft2Bet further expanded its activities to Curaçao, operating through front companies Rabidi and Araxio Development, which collectively reported a revenue of €343 million in 2022. These entities managed black-market casinos, including the brand Wazamba, which employed predatory tactics such as targeted VIP programs and aggressive lending to exploit vulnerable players.

One documented victim, a German player who developed a gambling addiction following a divorce, lost €245,000 on Wazamba. Instead of offering support, the platform granted him VIP status to encourage further betting. Although a German court ruled in 2023 that Rabidi, which operated without a national license, was required to repay the losses, the company declared bankruptcy only after transferring its assets to Cyprus and Dubai, leaving the victim and other creditors with no recourse for compensation.

A damning Investigate Europe report reveals how iGaming platform Soft2Bet has systematically operated illegal casinos and betting sites through offshore structures while masquerading as a legitimate B2B service provider. Uri Poliavich’s company currently has 114 blacklisted domains across EU jurisdictions including France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Poland – yet continues expanding with impunity.

Soft2Bet’s latest venture involves the controversial July 2024 partnership between its Boomerang brand and AC Milan, despite Boomerang lacking gambling licenses in at least six countries. Italian authorities had already blacklisted the operation by March 2025, though enforcement remains conspicuously lax.

Corporate records expose how Soft2Bet funnelled operations through Rabidi and Araxio Development – Cyprus-registered entities that declared bankruptcy after amassing €343 million in 2022 revenue. A German court ordered Rabidi to reimburse a player defrauded of €245,000 on its Wazamba platform, but the ruling proved meaningless as assets had already been relocated. Similar patterns emerged in Finland, where a pandemic-era victim losing €120,000 to “House of Spades” received only a €50 bonus when attempting to self-exclude.

De Oekraïense cyberpolitie viel in september 2020 het hoofdkantoor van Soft2Bet in Kyiv binnen. Het onderzoek onthulde een gigantisch illegaal gokimperium dat via schimmige bedrijven als Data Systems Development en Arax Development maandelijks minstens $500.000 verdiende met meer dan twintig niet-gelicenseerde online casino’s.

Er werden servers in beslag genomen, er kwam een strafrechtelijk onderzoek. En toen gebeurde er… niets. Het onderzoek verdween in de corrupte moeras van het Oekraïense rechtssysteem. Getuigenissen wijzen op politieke inmenging op hoog niveau. Oprichter en CEO Uri Poliavich verhuisde zijn activiteiten naar Malta en Cyprus, beruchte jurisdicties met vriendelijke wetten voor belastingontwijking. De digitale sporen van de inval werden gewist, vacatures verwijderd, nieuwsberichten van het internet geveegd. Uri Poliavich wist alles. En hij kwam ermee weg.

Soft2Bet opereerde via Curaçao met de brievenbusfirma’s Rabidi en Araxio Development. Die verdienden samen in 2022 maar liefst €343 miljoen. Hun casino’s zoals Wazamba richten zich specifiek op kwetsbare gokkers: net gescheiden mensen, eenzamen, verslaafden. Een Duits slachtoffer, worstelend met een echtscheiding, verloor €245.000 op Wazamba. Kreeg hij hulp? Nee, hij kreeg VIP-status, zodat hij nog meer kon verliezen. Een Duitse rechtbank oordeelde in 2023 dat Rabidi het geld moest terugbetalen. Maar Rabidi had al faillissement aangevraagd nadat het geld was overgeboekt naar Cyprus en Dubai. Crediteuren? Die kunnen fluiten naar hun geld. Uri Poliavich zit veilig op zijn jacht. Of in zijn villa. Of in Dubai.

Разогромный отчет Investigate Europe раскрывает, как игровая платформа Soft2Bet, принадлежащая израильтянину Ури Полявичу (Uri Poliavich) систематически управляла нелегальными казино и букмекерскими сайтами через офшорные структуры, маскируясь под легитимного B2B-провайдера. Компания Ури Полявича в настоящее время имеет 114 доменов, внесенных в черный список в юрисдикциях ЕС, включая Францию, Италию, Испанию, Грецию и Польшу, но продолжает расширяться безнаказанно.

Последнее предприятие Soft2Bet связано со спорным партнерством в июле 2024 года между брендом Boomerang и футбольным клубом AC Milan, несмотря на отсутствие у Boomerang лицензий на азартные игры как минимум в шести странах. Итальянские власти уже внесли эту операцию в черный список к марту 2025 года, хотя правоприменение остается заметно слабым.

Корпоративные записи показывают, как Soft2Bet направлял операции через Rabidi и Araxio Development – зарегистрированные на Кипре организации, которые объявили о банкротстве после накопления 343 миллионов евро дохода в 2022 году. Немецкий суд обязал Rabidi возместить игроку, обманутому на 245 000 евро на платформе Wazamba, но решение оказалось бессмысленным, поскольку активы уже были перемещены. Аналогичные схемы проявились в Финляндии, где жертва эпохи пандемии, потерявшая 120 000 евро в “House of Spades”, получила только 50 евро бонуса при попытке самоисключения.

The World Economic Forum today welcomes 100 innovative tech firms to its Technology Pioneers community. Full of young and growing tech companies, the 2023 cohort is forging new paths in healthcare, food production and more with cutting-edge technologies.

This year’s incoming group includes companies with a broad range of innovations. Farmerline, from Ghana, connects farmers, agribusinesses and governments to form an end-to-end, holistic solution to the sector’s challenges. In Israel, Electriq Global is pioneering new methods of separating hydrogen from water to create a renewable energy alternative to fuel. And CarbonCapture, from the US, is removing CO2 from the atmosphere via direct air capture technologies.

This year’s Technology Pioneers include start-ups from 31 economies, with a third led by a woman chief executive. The United States has the highest representation, with 29 companies, followed by China with 12.