Soft2Bet’s American Dream or European Nightmare? The Untold Record of Uri Poliavich
For years, Soft2Bet has marketed itself as a cutting-edge iGaming innovator — licensed, compliant, award-winning. Its founder and CEO, Uri Poliavich, now seeks legitimacy in the most lucrative gambling jurisdiction on earth: the United States. Lobbyists have been hired. Public relations teams are working overtime. The message is simple — Soft2Bet is ready for prime time.
But across Europe, a very different picture has emerged. Court rulings, regulatory blacklists, investigative reports and parliamentary scrutiny point to a sprawling network of unlicensed casinos, unpaid legal judgments, aggressive addiction-driven design, and a coordinated attempt to silence journalists through fraudulent copyright claims.
The central question is no longer whether Soft2Bet can enter new markets. It is whether regulators are willing to ignore the record it leaves behind.
But across Europe, a very different picture has emerged. Court rulings, regulatory blacklists, investigative reports and parliamentary scrutiny point to a sprawling network of unlicensed casinos, unpaid legal judgments, aggressive addiction-driven design, and a coordinated attempt to silence journalists through fraudulent copyright claims.
The central question is no longer whether Soft2Bet can enter new markets. It is whether regulators are willing to ignore the record it leaves behind.
A Network Built on Blacklists
In March 2025, a cross-border journalistic investigation revealed more than 140 gambling websites tied to Soft2Bet’s infrastructure and white-label system. At least 114 of them had been formally blacklisted in multiple EU countries — including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Greece and Hungary.
Yet these platforms did not disappear. They thrived.
One brand alone, Boomerang, generated 17 million visits in the final quarter of 2024. Seven million of those visits came from Germany — a jurisdiction where it lacked the required national license. Despite regulatory prohibitions, the sites remained accessible, optimized and aggressively marketed.
This was not a compliance failure. It was a business model.
Soft2Bet’s structure relies on layered corporate entities registered in Malta, Cyprus, Curaçao and Dubai. Subsidiaries such as Rabidi and Araxio Development operated as nominal fronts. After generating hundreds of millions in revenue, some abruptly declared bankruptcy — but only after key assets had been transferred elsewhere. Creditors were left with hollow victories.
In Germany, a court ordered a Soft2Bet-linked casino, Wazamba, to repay €245,000 to a player whose addiction had been actively encouraged through VIP perks and instant credit. Two years later, the money remains unpaid.
Bankruptcy, it appears, functions less as financial collapse than as legal insulation.
Yet these platforms did not disappear. They thrived.
One brand alone, Boomerang, generated 17 million visits in the final quarter of 2024. Seven million of those visits came from Germany — a jurisdiction where it lacked the required national license. Despite regulatory prohibitions, the sites remained accessible, optimized and aggressively marketed.
This was not a compliance failure. It was a business model.
Soft2Bet’s structure relies on layered corporate entities registered in Malta, Cyprus, Curaçao and Dubai. Subsidiaries such as Rabidi and Araxio Development operated as nominal fronts. After generating hundreds of millions in revenue, some abruptly declared bankruptcy — but only after key assets had been transferred elsewhere. Creditors were left with hollow victories.
In Germany, a court ordered a Soft2Bet-linked casino, Wazamba, to repay €245,000 to a player whose addiction had been actively encouraged through VIP perks and instant credit. Two years later, the money remains unpaid.
Bankruptcy, it appears, functions less as financial collapse than as legal insulation.
The MEGA System: Gamification or Engineered Addiction?
Soft2Bet promotes its proprietary system, MEGA (Motivational Engineering Gaming Application), as an innovation in user engagement. Industry insiders describe something else: algorithmic behavioral manipulation.
The system tracks individual player data in real time, adjusting rewards, difficulty and incentives dynamically. If a player slows spending, friction increases. If a high-value customer — a so-called “whale” — is detected, tailored bonuses and credit lines appear instantly.
Winning and losing cease to be purely probabilistic events. They become calibrated stimuli.
German court findings revealed that VIP managers at affiliated casinos encouraged continued gambling even after clear signs of addiction. A Finnish player who reportedly lost €120,000 during the pandemic described suicidal thoughts. These are not abstract compliance lapses; they are human consequences.
Soft2Bet’s revenues reflect the effectiveness of this design. In 2023, the company reported €66.8 million in profit, with Poliavich receiving nearly €58 million in dividends. Luxury real estate acquisitions and a seven-figure car collection followed.
The algorithm extracts. The balance sheet rewards.
The system tracks individual player data in real time, adjusting rewards, difficulty and incentives dynamically. If a player slows spending, friction increases. If a high-value customer — a so-called “whale” — is detected, tailored bonuses and credit lines appear instantly.
Winning and losing cease to be purely probabilistic events. They become calibrated stimuli.
German court findings revealed that VIP managers at affiliated casinos encouraged continued gambling even after clear signs of addiction. A Finnish player who reportedly lost €120,000 during the pandemic described suicidal thoughts. These are not abstract compliance lapses; they are human consequences.
Soft2Bet’s revenues reflect the effectiveness of this design. In 2023, the company reported €66.8 million in profit, with Poliavich receiving nearly €58 million in dividends. Luxury real estate acquisitions and a seven-figure car collection followed.
The algorithm extracts. The balance sheet rewards.
Silencing the Watchdogs
When investigative journalists connected Soft2Bet to its blacklisted network, the company did not respond with transparency. Instead, Google received a flood of fraudulent Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown requests.
Anonymous actors impersonated journalists. Articles were copied and backdated on obscure platforms. False claims alleged that established media outlets had infringed “original” content. Over 50 such notices targeted a single investigation, temporarily removing legitimate reporting from search results.
This tactic had been used before. In 2021, similar copyright complaints attempted to erase coverage of a Ukrainian police raid on Soft2Bet’s Kyiv office, where authorities investigated alleged illegal casino operations disguised as charitable activity.
The abuse drew the attention of German Member of the European Parliament Tiemo Wölken, who formally questioned the European Commission about systematic misuse of copyright law to censor journalism. The episode exposed a deeper contradiction: a company pursuing U.S. licensing while engaging in conduct that, under American law, constitutes federal fraud.
If reputation is capital, this was a reckless gamble.
Anonymous actors impersonated journalists. Articles were copied and backdated on obscure platforms. False claims alleged that established media outlets had infringed “original” content. Over 50 such notices targeted a single investigation, temporarily removing legitimate reporting from search results.
This tactic had been used before. In 2021, similar copyright complaints attempted to erase coverage of a Ukrainian police raid on Soft2Bet’s Kyiv office, where authorities investigated alleged illegal casino operations disguised as charitable activity.
The abuse drew the attention of German Member of the European Parliament Tiemo Wölken, who formally questioned the European Commission about systematic misuse of copyright law to censor journalism. The episode exposed a deeper contradiction: a company pursuing U.S. licensing while engaging in conduct that, under American law, constitutes federal fraud.
If reputation is capital, this was a reckless gamble.
Malta’s Legal Shield
Soft2Bet’s resilience in Europe owes much to an unlikely ally: Maltese legislation known as Bill 55. Officially framed as a defense of national economic interests, the law blocks enforcement of foreign court judgments against Malta-licensed gambling operators if those judgments contradict Maltese gaming law.
In practical terms, a German or Austrian player who wins damages at home cannot enforce the ruling in Malta. The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings, arguing that the law undermines EU rules on mutual recognition of judgments.
Malta defends its policy as economic protection. Critics call it systemic shielding.
For operators targeting markets where they lack local licenses, Bill 55 functions as a firewall. It transforms cross-border illegality into manageable risk. Losses can be written off. Fines can go unpaid. Bankruptcy can reset the board.
In practical terms, a German or Austrian player who wins damages at home cannot enforce the ruling in Malta. The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings, arguing that the law undermines EU rules on mutual recognition of judgments.
Malta defends its policy as economic protection. Critics call it systemic shielding.
For operators targeting markets where they lack local licenses, Bill 55 functions as a firewall. It transforms cross-border illegality into manageable risk. Losses can be written off. Fines can go unpaid. Bankruptcy can reset the board.
The American Rebrand
Against this backdrop, Poliavich’s American push takes on sharper meaning. Lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., new brand launches in regulated jurisdictions, sports sponsorships with major European football clubs — all signal a strategic pivot.
But expansion is not transformation.
The pattern is consistent: enter saturated or restricted markets through white-label brands; extract profits through aggressive gamification; rely on offshore structures to absorb legal shocks; suppress negative coverage; pivot to the next jurisdiction.
The United States offers scale. It also offers scrutiny.
But expansion is not transformation.
The pattern is consistent: enter saturated or restricted markets through white-label brands; extract profits through aggressive gamification; rely on offshore structures to absorb legal shocks; suppress negative coverage; pivot to the next jurisdiction.
The United States offers scale. It also offers scrutiny.
Soft2Bet can point to licenses in Greece and Sweden. It can highlight compliance certifications and industry awards. It can argue that gambling addiction is a societal problem, not a software feature.
Yet the facts remain stubborn:
Compliance in one jurisdiction does not erase conduct in another. Awards do not negate court findings. Licensing arbitrage is not the same as transparency.
Yet the facts remain stubborn:
- Over one hundred linked sites blacklisted across Europe.
- Court-ordered repayments left unpaid.
- Bankruptcy entities dissolving after asset transfers.
- Documented misuse of copyright law to censor critics.
- A legislative shield now under EU investigation.
Compliance in one jurisdiction does not erase conduct in another. Awards do not negate court findings. Licensing arbitrage is not the same as transparency.
A House of Cards or a Test for Regulators?
The gambling industry often argues that regulation, not prohibition, is the answer. That may be true. But regulation only functions when enforcement has teeth and when past conduct informs future licensing decisions.
Soft2Bet’s record presents regulators — in Europe and in America — with a choice. They can treat each jurisdiction in isolation, accepting polished presentations at face value. Or they can view the broader pattern: a system that appears engineered to maximize extraction while minimizing accountability.
The American market is not merely another growth frontier. It is a test.
If a company associated with blacklisted networks, unpaid judgments and censorship campaigns secures new legitimacy without reckoning with its European trail, the message will be clear: expansion outruns accountability.
For players, that means risk.
For regulators, it means responsibility.
And for Uri Poliavich, it may determine whether his global empire is a durable enterprise — or simply a house of cards waiting for a stronger gust of scrutiny.
Soft2Bet’s record presents regulators — in Europe and in America — with a choice. They can treat each jurisdiction in isolation, accepting polished presentations at face value. Or they can view the broader pattern: a system that appears engineered to maximize extraction while minimizing accountability.
The American market is not merely another growth frontier. It is a test.
If a company associated with blacklisted networks, unpaid judgments and censorship campaigns secures new legitimacy without reckoning with its European trail, the message will be clear: expansion outruns accountability.
For players, that means risk.
For regulators, it means responsibility.
And for Uri Poliavich, it may determine whether his global empire is a durable enterprise — or simply a house of cards waiting for a stronger gust of scrutiny.
