Sweden’s Gaming Inspectorate (Spelinspektionen) has warned the country’s new casino deposit limits are effectively impossible to enforce. 

The ‘temporary’ restrictions, which include strict deposit limits, were introduced in response to a supposed explosion in online gambling due to the COVID-19 crisis, but are widely seen as nothing more than a political stunt by anti-gambling politicians, notably Iranian-Swedish politician Ardalan Shekarabi. 

A fairly obvious loophole

In July, Swedish online gaming trade association BOS said the emergency restrictions were causing “chaos” for operators, and last week Spelinspektionen joined the fray, saying the new rules were impossible to enforce. 

The regulator argues that, because the limits apply per license, users with accounts at more than one licensee can easily circumvent the SEK 5,000 weekly spending limit and SEK 100 bonus limit restrictions. 

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that problem gamblers are more likely to exploit this loophole than casual bettors – meaning the sum total of the ‘protective measures’ are likely to be nothing more than slightly inconveniencing problem or determined gamblers, while seriously frustrating casual gamers. 

Well, duh. 

Big brother wants to ‘protect’ you

As if the entire episode wasn’t already farcical enough, things then took a sinister turn when the totally non-creepy team at Jämlikhetskommissionen (Swedish Equality Commission) took it upon themselves to suggest the creation of a centralised database of gamblers. 

This would allow the Party’s Thought Police, sorry, ‘Equality Commission’, to see exactly how much each individual player spends across all licensed platforms – presumably it would also give them access to a raft of other behavioural information, all in the name of ‘safer gambling,’ of course. 

To its credit Spelinspektionen did respond with a small volley in defence of freedom, reminding the Equality Commission that ‘equality’ means equality for everyone (not just politically-approved minorities, the variously offended, identity confused, and their woke cheerleaders), and that even gamblers have privacy rights. 

Indeed, the regulator even reminded the Equality Commission that there are actual national and EU laws protecting privacy, data, and human rights… who’d have thought it, eh?

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The Brazilian government has appointed an agency to finalise the legislative and regulatory framework for sports betting.

Decree 10,467, signed by President Jair Bolsonaro, has appointed social development bank BNDES to work with the Ministry of the Economy to help speed the launch of the long-awaited regulated marketplace. 

Brazil’s Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes, has apparently instructed his department to finalise the key requirements and conditions for the bidding process for concessions. While BNDES, which report directly to Brazil’s Council of Investment Alliances Program, will be responsible for “executing and monitoring the privatization process.”

The legal sports betting marketplace has also been added as a directive of the Investments and Partnerships Program (PPI) – a federal government project set up during the country’s 2016 financial crisis, tasked with delivering an economic recovery. 158 projects, distributed over 13 policy areas, are now covered by the PPI, including state-owned instant win operator LOTEX. 

Several major international gambling operators, including 188Bet, Betfair, and Betsson AB have already started to establish a presence in Brazil, in anticipation of what could end up being one of the most lucrative sports betting markets in the world. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Brazil was still reeling from its recent financial crisis before the COVID-19 crisis hit, and is now finding itself facing unprecedented challenges to keep the economy afloat, let alone recover. However, the crisis does seem to have made authorities much more enthusiastic about collecting gambling tax revenues, so operators may find the market now opens up a lot quicker, and easier, than it would have otherwise.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The brother of Ruja Ignatova, the fugitive founder of giant Bulgaria-based crypto scam OneCoin, has agreed to testify against her in a civil case. 

Konstantin Ignatov, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in March 2019, is also a defendant and cooperating witness in an ongoing parallel criminal case, has agreed to testify against his sister, as part of a settlement that saw civil charges against him dropped. 

It has been revealed that, as part of the settlement, Konstantin is working with the OneCoin investors bringing the class action lawsuit forward, and has promised to testify against his own sister if the suit ends up going to trial (they need to catch Ruja first). 

Race horses, money laundering and murder in Mexico

Konstantin’s testimony has already helped convict lawyer and OneCoin money launderer Mark Scott, in November 2019. Scott is thought to have laundered around $400 million for the scam.

He also dished the dirt on Amer Abdulaziz Salman, owner of Phoenix Thoroughbreds, revealing him to be a key money launderer under the direction of Gilbert Armena – an co-conspirator of Mark Scott, and Ruja Ignatova’s former lover. 

Despite Salman denying any links to OneCoin, last week Phoenix Thoroughbreds, which claims to have over 300 horses worldwide, was barred from competing in France and the company has also withdrawn from British racing. 

In July police in Mazatlan, Mexico, found the bodies of former OneCoin promoters, Chilean national Oscar Brito Ibarra and Argentinian national Ignacio Ibarra, stuffed into suitcases. It is believed the men were murdered by suffocation and had been kidnapped two days earlier. 

Still not looking good for Konstantin

However, despite pleading guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and cooperating with investigators and investors, Konstantin Ignatov could still be facing up to 90 years in jail. He is due to be sentenced on 11 November 2020. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The sheer size and sophistication of the OneCoin scam is still difficult to grasp, with estimates suggesting it was worth around $4 billion. The perpetrators of the scam went to great lengths to make the scheme look legitimate, with researchers finding a concerted effort was made to flood the internet with fake positive reviews and drown out any criticism. 

Staying with high-profile crypto scams, earlier this week the operators of AirBit Club, and an attorney, have been charged with fraud and money laundering by authorities in New York. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The operators of AirBit Club, and an attorney, have been charged with fraud and money laundering by authorities in New York. 

Following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), four of the five alleged figures behind AirBit Club were arrested and appeared in court yesterday. A fifth alleged operator was also arrested in Panama, where he is subject to extradition proceedings. 

The five suspects charged have been named as Pablo Renato Rodriguez, Gutenberg Dos Santos, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, and Jackie Aguilar. 

Lavish presentations to fool ‘investors’

Launched in late 2015, Airbit Club presented itself as a typical multi-level marketing club for cryptocurrency, with organisers employing the usual bling-laden presentations to persuade ‘investors’ to part with their cash. 

Despite promising guaranteed daily returns from crypto mining and trading, and running an online portal that purported to show the profits amassing, in reality it was all a Ponzi scheme.

Indeed, according to the US Department of Justice indictment, those behind AirBit Club actually used victims’ money to buy luxury goods and real estate and, of course. 

Discussing the case HSI Special Agent-in-Charge, Peter C. Fitzhugh, said:

“Those arrested today have not only been charged with running a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering ring, but also for allegedly spending their victim’s money on luxury cars, jewelry, and homes. 

“These alleged fraudsters pulled out all the stops to sell their scheme to their victims with enticing recruitment events, then shamelessly used proceeds of their scheme to recruit additional victims through even more aggressive and lavish marketing pitches. 

“As today’s arrests show, HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force investigates financial crimes of every type, and will stop those who prey on unsuspecting investors who entrust their hard-earned savings to so-called financial advisors.  Those who violate this trust for their personal gain will face consequences for their actions.”

Alarm bells first started ringing as early as 2016, when club members discovered withdrawals weren’t as easy as promised. Apparently, in addition to delays and hidden fees, club members were instructed they must first recruit new members before they could get money out. 

At least $20 million USD in cash is thought to have been laundered through a plethora of trusts and bank accounts, and those running the club made extensive efforts to scrub the internet of any negative reviews and warnings about the scheme. 

High-profile sponsorships

AirBit Club even engaged in high-profile sponsorships in an attempt to make itself look legitimate. 

According to AirBit Club’s website, which is still live, the company is present in Formula 3, sponsoring driver Enzo Fittipaldi, has made a strategic alliance with the NASCAR brand and Telmex team, and sponsored the FIA-certified NACAM F4 Mexico championship. 

Entrepreneur, investor and author Robert Kiyosaki, is also featured on the AirBit Club site, as is author, motivational speaker (and fraudster) Jordan Belfort. 

It is even claimed that Brazilian star Ronaldinho appeared at an event that was sponsored by AirBit Club in December 2019, and he is pictured wearing a shirt featuring the company’s logo. 

💥 you got the power 💥 https://t.co/bMnGTGwDLK

— AirBit Club Official (@AirBitOfficial) March 13, 2019

AYO.NEWS says:

Slowly but surely those behind the scams that so badly tarnished the public’s perception of cryptocurrencies over the past five years or so are being brought to justice. 

In the case of AirBit Club, the most shocking aspect is the lengths the company went to in terms of sponsorship and celebrity endorsements to make itself look legitimate. 

Still, AirBit never reached the insane size of the OneCoin Ponzi scam, which was estimated to be worth in the region of $4 billion by the time its site was taken down at the end of 2019. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Australia is set to block more illegal offshore gambling websites.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be requesting internet service providers (ISPs) to block a number of additional gambling websites, including Planet 7 Oz, Ace Pokies, Nordicasino, Reeltastic, Spintropolis, Enzo Casino, Times Square Casino, and Royal Spinz. 

ACMA began investigating the aforementioned sites after receiving complaints about the operators treating players poorly and withholding winnings. It concluded the sites were operating in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

In July ACMA ordered Australian ISPs to block 11 offshore gambling sites; Happy Hugo, Mucho Vegas Casino, Kahuna Casino, Rich Casino, Box 24 Casino, Bondi Bet, JokaRoom, Omni Slots, Fruits 4 Real, XPokies, and Slottica.  

ACMA says that more than 100 illegal gambling services have pulled out of the Australian market since it started enforcing new offshore gambling rules in 2017. 

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Sportradar has launched a new service to help protect professional athletes from social media abuse. 

The global sports betting and sports entertainment products and services provider says the new tool has been designed to protect the mental health and wellbeing of athletes, and will be available to all sports federations, leagues, and governing bodies.

Created by Sportradar’s Intelligence and Investigation Services team, the new service uses advanced technology to help identify those behind anonymous ‘troll’ or ‘burner’ accounts, used to abuse athletes on social media. 

The new solution will gather information, and allow Sportradar’s specialist team to share findings with partners, helping secure the removal of offending accounts, and where necessary, work with law enforcement to ensure legal action is taken. 

Commenting on the new tool Sportradar Integrity Services managing director, Andreas Krannich, said:

“Maintaining the integrity of sport and ensuring that it’s safe, fair and enjoyable for all, has long been our priority.

“Now, with this new service, we’ve strengthened our position in this space by safeguarding the athletes who compete in it and protecting them from online harm and social media abuse.”

Sportradar says the new service was successfully trialled this summer at the Exo-Tennis Series in Germany and the United States. It saw participating players from the ATP and WTA Tours, including Germany’s Dustin Brown and US pair Taylor Townsend and Sachia Vickery, sharing abusive messages they had received on social media. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Social media abuse is a growing issue for everyone, but it’s not hard to imagine how much of a problem it can be for professional athletes who are already under immense pressure to perform, so it’s great to see Sportradar employing its specialist tech and skills to help organisations combat this.

Staying with Sportradar, last month the company announced it had strengthened its partnership with Badminton Europe, with an eye to increasing the sport’s profile in key European and Asian markets, along with new and emerging markets. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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