Soft2Bet Files: Investigation Linked the Company to a Network of Offshore Casinos and Irish Licences
The journalism network Investigate Europe, The Irish Times, and media outlets from 14 other countries released a new part of The Soft2Bet Files investigation. At the centre of the report are leaked internal documents, financial records, and interviews with former employees, through which the journalists describe a network of offshore gambling sites linked to Soft2Bet and its partners.
According to the investigation, from May 2020 to May 2024, the Cyprus companies Tranello and Tilaros transferred around €600 million to Soft2Bet and related structures. The journalists claim the money came from dozens of offshore casinos that European regulators had blacklisted or fined for operating without local licences. In payment documents, some transfers were recorded as “marketing services” and “licensing agreements.”
More than €330 million, according to the leaks, went to companies that investigators link to Soft2Bet founder Yuriy Polyavich. Among them, the reports name the former parent holding Outono and the casino developer Brainrocket. Times of Malta also writes that Tilaros, which was not formally owned by Soft2Bet, was used for payments to senior group executives, including a former chief commercial officer, the head of compliance, and the current general counsel.
€600 Million and a Network of 145 Sites
Investigate Europe says Soft2Bet and its partners operated about 160 casinos, while analysis of national databases showed that 145 of them had been blacklisted in at least one European country. Many sites were registered in offshore jurisdictions, including Anjouan and Curaçao, where licensing is traditionally viewed by European regulators differently from local permits.
This part of the investigation continues the Shady Bets series, which Investigate Europe launched in March 2025. At that time, journalists wrote about dozens of gambling sites that operated across Europe without the required local licences and about how such platforms bypassed national restrictions. The new publication adds a financial layer to that picture: not just a list of sites, but the movement of money between offshore casinos, payment agents, and structures linked to Soft2Bet.
The investigation also describes the Irish line separately. The Irish Times writes that the Irish authorities issued licences to six companies linked to Soft2Bet starting in 2022. Soft2Bet itself received an Irish permit through the Malta-based Maltix in April 2022, while the journalists name Naale, Sligo, Sky Rain, Zentoria, and Salvia among the other companies. According to the investigators, only one of these structures was openly linked to the group, while the others could have looked like separate legal entities.
Irish licences are especially important because of how they may have worked for external trust. This status does not necessarily permit activity across all of Europe, but for banks, payment services, and partners it creates a cleaner picture than offshore registration. Until 1 July, licensing in Ireland was handled by the tax service and the Ministry of Justice; now this area has moved to the new regulator, GRAI. The Irish Times writes that GRAI has already received powers to tackle black-market operators and has warned that providing betting services in Ireland without a licence is a serious offence.
OnlySpins, Tobique, and Irish Payments
One of the most notable episodes in the investigation is connected to OnlySpins. The journalists describe it as one of the new brands that, according to them, did not have a European gambling licence but operated under a Tobique licence - a First Nation reserve in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The Irish Times claims the site accepted players from Ireland without age and identity checks. From February to April 2026, according to traffic analysis, OnlySpins received more than 1 million visits from EU countries.
The payments trail again leads to Ireland. The investigation says that when paying by card from Belgium, users were asked to send money to Zentoria, a company with an Irish remote bookmaking operation licence. The OnlySpins website also states that payment management is provided by Morada Horizon Services Ltd. This is an Irish company registered at the Dublin address of the accounting firm Kinore.
Kinore told The Irish Times that it did not know about the activities of Morada Horizon Services connected to OnlySpins. The company explained that it provided only corporate secretary and registered-office services, and after questions from journalists it called the information it had found unexpected and a cause for serious concern. Kinore head Larissa Feeney said the firm would terminate its relationship with Morada Horizon Services.
Journalists also link Morada Horizon Services to Soft2Bet through internal correspondence. According to them, in leaked chats executives discussed creating Morada Horizon in Ireland, while corporate records show that the Marshall Islands company Lornioco owns Morada Horizon Services, Naale, and Zentoria. Naale, The Irish Times writes, was used by Soft2Bet for the sites Rabona and Wazamba, where the journalists also did not encounter age verification during registration.
Spinsy, an AI Bot, and Vulnerable Players
Another brand from the investigation is Spinsy. According to the journalists, the site operated with an Anjouan licence and was accessible to Irish users. The Irish Sun published a sponsored review of Spinsy but removed the article after a request from The Irish Times. The investigation also says that after registration a “friendly AI bot” called a journalist and began persuading them to make the minimum €20 deposit.
The heaviest part of the report concerns not corporate schemes, but behaviour toward problem players. Former employees claim that sites in Soft2Bet’s orbit deliberately targeted people with gambling addiction, while customer support could delay account closures and offer bonuses to those requesting self-exclusion. The Irish Times cites stories of players who lost tens and hundreds of thousands of euros or pounds on sites the investigators link to this network.
According to one former support agent, if a player spoke about a gambling problem and still wanted to close the account, they could be offered a bonus to keep them on the platform. Another former employee said managers pressured customer support, demanding that they bring back clients who were trying to leave. Soft2Bet denies these allegations in its general response to the investigation.
Soft2Bet told journalists that it takes compliance, corporate governance, and responsible business seriously. The company says the investigators’ questions reflect an “incorrect and misleading interpretation” of its business structure, and stresses that it operates in accordance with applicable laws and engages with regulators where required.
For the industry, this story is uncomfortable not only because of the size of the amount. €600 million is a loud figure, but the mechanics hit even harder: licences in one country, offshore brands in another, payment companies in a third, while the player ultimately sees an ordinary site with a bonus, a fast deposit, and an almost invisible legal wrapper. It is precisely these kinds of structures that are now becoming a main pressure point for European regulators.
Mark Patterson is the news writer at CasinosInCanada who covers the latest developments in the iGaming industry, including casino launches, regulations, and market updates.
