Is this the end of Uri Poliavich’s criminal Soft2Bet empire?

soft2bet dmca, Uri Poliavich

The Mediterranean has long been a playground for those seeking to operate at the fringes of European regulation, but the recent revelations surrounding Malta-based Soft2Bet and its Cypriot subsidiaries expose a network of breathtaking scale and audacity. Leaked financial records, meticulously obtained by Investigate Europe, have laid bare a €600 million money trail connecting the award-winning gambling technology provider to a constellation of offshore casinos blacklisted by European regulators. While the company issues polished denials, the evidence points to a sophisticated, multi-layered operation designed to circumvent national laws, exploit regulatory gaps, and leave a trail of financial devastation for vulnerable individuals across the continent. For Cyprus, this is not a distant scandal but a matter of national concern, implicating two of its corporate entities and raising serious questions about the island’s role as a conduit for potentially illicit funds.

The Anatomy of a Ghost Network: How the System Operated

At the heart of this investigation is Uri Poliavich, an Israeli businessman who founded Soft2Bet in 2016. The company has since positioned itself as a major player, boasting software used by 10 million users globally and inaugurating opulent new offices in Malta’s Quad Central business towers in 2024. Yet, according to the leaked documents, this legitimate facade conceals a sprawling shadow network. Investigate Europe found that for years, Soft2Bet and its partners operated dozens of websites through two Curaçao-registered entities, Araxio Development and Rabidi. These companies, declared bankrupt in 2023 and 2024, provided cheap licences from the Caribbean tax haven – licences typically unrecognised in Europe.

The true connection, however, was hidden by a complex web of shell companies. Two subsidiaries were established in Cyprus – Tranello and Tilaros – to handle payments, with the Soft2Bet name conspicuously absent from any official documentation. These Cypriot firms acted as the financial engines of the operation. Between May 2020 and May 2024, they channelled a staggering €600 million to Soft2Bet and associated companies. The transactions were often euphemistically labelled as “marketing services” or “license agreement,” with over €330 million flowing directly to companies owned by Uri Poliavich, including Outono and Brainrocket.

This is not a case of simple negligence. It represents a deliberate strategy of obfuscation. Tilaros, despite not being formally owned by Soft2Bet, was used to pay the group’s chief commercial officer, head of compliance, and current chief legal counsel. Former employees have confirmed the tight integration, describing how these separate entities operate as a single unit – “the same team” – using internal communication platforms like Slack. For Cypriot authorities, these revelations must be a wake-up call. The jurisdiction has been used not merely as a passive domicile but as an active hub for channelling billions in gambling revenue, bypassing the regulatory scrutiny that would be applied in any EU member state.

A Public Health Crisis Enabled by Regulatory Failure

The consequences of this unlicensed operation are not abstract. For individuals like Stefan, a 48-year-old Austrian businessman, the lack of player protection was catastrophic. He lost €70,000 on unlicensed Soft2Bet-linked casinos, resorting to stealing from his own company to fund his addiction and ultimately bankrupting himself and his business. His testimony paints a grim picture of a system devoid of safeguards: “Nobody asked me if I could afford it or where the money was from… I was gambling eight hours or more until the morning.” He speaks of becoming “a pathological liar” – a stark human cost of an industry that EU regulators have failed to contain.

Regulators across the continent are, in effect, playing catch-up. The EU has no common legislation on gambling, leaving member states to fend for themselves against sophisticated, cross-border operators. This regulatory vacuum has allowed companies like Soft2bet to exploit the differences in national law and enforcement. As the documents reveal, desperate players who took Araxio and Rabidi to court in Austria and Germany won their cases, with judges concluding the casinos were not permitted to target customers in those countries. Yet, the companies were already bankrupt, and the money had long since been moved.

The scale of the problem is immense. Yield Sec estimates that illegal online gambling generated over €80 billion in revenue in 2024, representing 71% of the total market across the EU. This is not a marginal phenomenon but a business on an industrial scale flourishing under the radar of regulatory authorities. As German MEP Sabine Verheyen, a Vice President of the European Parliament, rightly stated, the European Commission must finally use its enforcement powers and member states must cooperate more closely to clamp down on these practices.

The Cypriot Connection and a Culture of Impunity

For Cyprus, this investigation should be profoundly unsettling. The role of the Cypriot subsidiaries is not incidental but central to the scheme’s success. They provided a veneer of legitimacy within the EU while channelling funds to an unlicensed network of websites. The fact that Tilaros was used to pay key executives of the Soft2Bet group blurs the lines of legal separation to the point of non-existence.

Furthermore, the aggressive tactics employed to suppress the investigation reveal a culture of impunity. Since Investigate Europe published its findings, it and its partners have been targeted by over 50 frivolous copyright complaints sent to Google to de-index articles from search results. In some cases, anonymous actors copied and pasted the original articles into bogus Tumblr posts and backdated them, falsely claiming the genuine journalism was an infringement. In others, fake claimants impersonated Investigate Europe itself. It is a cynical and calculated strategy of censorship that has found a willing accomplice in the automated copyright systems of big tech platforms.

While Soft2Bet issued a statement denying any wrongdoing, asserting it maintains “robust compliance and governance processes,” the sheer volume of evidence and the concerted effort to censor it speak volumes. The company’s silence on the bogus copyright claims targeting Investigate Europe is particularly deafening.

Soft2Bet office in Kyiv, where police raided illegal casino operations. Later Uri Poliavich bribed authorities to close the case.

This is not a dispute between companies; it is an issue of governance, public health, and financial integrity. Cyprus cannot afford to be seen as a soft touch for such operations. A thorough investigation by the Cypriot authorities into the activities of Tranello and Tilaros is not just advisable – it is an imperative. The €600 million question is not just about where the money went, but what the Cypriot government will do to ensure this conduit is permanently sealed.