"Casino Papers": Data leak reveals explosive structures of illegal online casinos

Even in regulated European markets, the allocation of operator and ownership structures for online casinos quickly becomes difficult. Not to mention the many offshore platforms that deliberately conceal their data in order to remain under the radar in regions for which they do not have a license. Now a major data leak is providing specific insights into the world of such companies. Several tens of thousands of internal documents are said to show how laws are being circumvented across Europe and how the authorities are forced to watch powerlessly.

If you want to find out more about the operator of an online casino licensed in Germany, you can simply take a look at the legal notice. In this country, there is a corresponding duty to provide information. However, this does not make it clear who the site in question really belongs to. Even regulated gambling groups often work with a colorful array of subsidiaries for certain offer segments or countries. In our case, the puzzle can still be put together - even without the powers of deduction of a Sherlock Holmes.

But woe betide us if we leave our home turf and come across platforms based in Curaçao or Costa Rica.

• Although there are often still company details on the websites, in many cases these are merely letterbox addresses.
• Authorities regularly face a Herculean task when it comes to taking legal action. And this is precisely why prosecutions often fail to materialize.
• Public sources, such as Curaçao's commercial register, do reveal which service providers operate the letterbox companies on the island. However, they do not say a word about their clients in the background.
• It becomes even more difficult when it comes to locating platforms that operate without any official regulation.

But here's the kicker: sometimes the string-pullers are merciful - or in this case quite negligent. Apparently, one of the organizations involved in these machinations has inadvertently opened its own coffers. A data leak, as extensive as it is sensitive, was leaked to the Dutch investigative magazine "Follow the Money". Tens of thousands of documents that show how letterbox companies in Malta and Curaçao are illegally involved in Europe. Disguised ownership? Yes. But apparently recognizable for the first time in the documents.

For the companies named in the "Casino Papers", things are now likely to get dicey. And who knows? Perhaps this leak will finally succeed in driving forward the legal prosecution of such networks as a whole. Certain opportunities are emerging for the German market. We have taken a closer look at this exciting case.

Article by the Austrian news journal "Zeit im Bild" from ORF

The ORF summarizes the revelations of the "Casino Papers" compactly:

Tens of thousands of documents incriminate software provider Delasport

Welcome to the world of Delasport, a software company that is ostensibly the perfect business partner for online casinos. It offers ready-made solutions that make starting a gambling business child's play: from administration and payment processing to compliance with legal requirements - all from a single source.

• Tens of thousands of internal documents dating back to 2023 are said to show that Delasport is far more than just a technical service provider. Behind the façade of a reputable software provider, there is apparently a network of letterbox companies that are said to operate hundreds of gambling sites.
• These companies specifically target markets with strict gambling laws such as Germany, Sweden and Austria - without even a single valid license. These are not just a few minor violations in passing, but systematic operations in a legal gray area.

The internal company reports, which are said to be part of the "Casino Papers", paint an impressive - or rather frightening - picture: tens of thousands of players make millions every month. Hundreds of millions of euros in bets and millions in gross gaming revenues are revealed. A veritable gold rush that has now gone public and is apparently being deliberately staged on the back of strict national laws.

Malta, Curaçao and the art of hide-and-seek

Malta and Curaçao - two places that sound like a vacation to most people - play a completely different role in the "Casino Papers". Instead of sun and sand, it's all about letterbox companies that serve as cloaks for hundreds of gambling websites. According to the revelations, Delasport operates its business via three such "shell companies": one on the picturesque Valletta waterfront in Malta and two in Curaçao, the Caribbean gem in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The secret behind the system? Corporate service providers:

1. These providers not only take care of the legal and administrative details, but also provide their offices as "company headquarters" right away.
2. In addition, they officially take over the management. As a result, the actual operators of the gambling sites remain in the dark.
3. What looks like a regular business from the outside turns out to be a cleverly convoluted game of hide-and-seek.

The "Casino Papers" now lay the cards on the table and are intended to show how Delasport has built up a network from these locations that cleverly conceals who is behind various illegally operated sites.

Delasport and casino operator Shark77 apparently belong together

Anyone strolling along the Valletta waterfront may find it hard to believe that behind the picturesque backdrop of Vault 14, Level 2 lies a hub of the international gambling industry. According to the reports on the "Casino Papers", more than 300 companies are registered there - including Shark77 Ltd, which apparently has close links to Delasport.

• The leaked documents show that mail for Shark77 is delivered to the above address.
• From there, a Maltese company forwarded the letters to a Shark77 e-mail address. So far, so unsuspicious - if it weren't for the details of the documents, which give a deeper insight.
• An employee of Shark77, who regularly communicated with the Maltese company, switched between two e-mail addresses: Sometimes he used a Delasport contact, sometimes one from Shark77. A coincidence? Apparently not.

These websites are all like the proverbial Hydra monster - for every severed head - or for every blocked domain - two new ones grow. This is made possible by mirror domains, i.e. alternative addresses that lead to the same content. As soon as a website is "shut down" by the authorities, players simply switch to the next available address.

The links between Delasport and Shark77 could of course be due to a close business partnership. However, the "casino papers" are more likely to suggest a dual role in which Delasport is much more than a software provider.

Bellona and NewEra, two other busy casino companies in the spotlight

Bellona and NewEra are well-known players in the world of illegal online gambling. Both companies are based in Curaçao. According to the "Casino Papers", they are owned by a certain Ilan Shemesh, who, like Delasport founder Avi Shemesh, is said to come from Israel. The international press has speculated that the two could be related. But so far this is only speculation. According to the documents, however, one thing is certain: The paths of Delasport and these two companies cross again and again.

• And there are apparently plenty of legal disputes: Spanish and Dutch regulators have already imposed heavy fines on the operators. The payout: no payout. At least the Spanish market is said to have been abandoned by those responsible. This may have something to do with the really tough stance taken by the local gambling authority: In Spain, over 65 million euros in fines were recorded against gambling providers in the first half of 2024 alone.
• The German gambling authority is also not a fan of the Curaçao companies. The "Casino Papers" are intended to show that the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) threatened fines and prison sentences in an official letter in 2022 if the numerous sites made accessible in Germany without a license were not blocked. The answer? Well, let's just say Bellona and NewEra don't exactly seem to have rushed to sort things out.
• Incidentally, Shark77's websites are also said to have been penalized several times: In 2022, the Dutch Gaming Authority fined the company 900,000 euros for operating illegally in the country with 18Bet. According to the reports on the "Casino Papers", the sum has still not been paid. In the same year, Danish regulators are said to have issued a warning to the Shark77 platform Casinowinbig for illegal activities in Denmark.

Could the "Casino Papers" actually make a difference?

The quick answer is: maybe.

1. In Germany, for example, the GGL speaks of a total of 843 German-language websites that are operated here without a license in the current Gambling Atlas. According to the gambling survey, these registered black market offers generate a gross gaming revenue of 815 million euros.
2. The reports on the "Casino Papers" speak of hundreds of unauthorized sites, which are primarily aimed at Germany and a few other core countries. Should these really be shut down in the wake of the data leak and if we assume that the black market analysis of the Gambling Atlas and Gambling Survey is based on correct, reliable figures (there are certainly differing opinions here), the number of unlicensed platforms in Germany would indeed be significantly reduced.

In Europe or even worldwide, however, this would only represent the very tip of an iceberg that is difficult to grasp. In Asia in particular, where the passion for gambling knows almost no bounds, an incredible 1.7 trillion euros are said to flow from illegal sports betting alone every year! This was suggested by an ARD documentary on the cooperation between Bundesliga clubs and dubious Asian betting providers. This does not even include online casinos and other offers.

Conclusion

Source of the image: Screenshot from the ORF report on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWZdDLToAUE&ab_channel=ORFZeitimBild

Central text sources: https://www.ftm.eu/articles/illegal-gambling-sites-target-european-users, https://theshiftnews.com/2025/01/07/casinopapers-international-software-provider-operates-gambling-websites-through-malta-shell-company/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWZdDLToAUE&ab_channel=ORFZeitimBild