Fake Bankruptcies and Vanishing Assets: How Soft2bet’s Uri Poliavich Evades Responsibility for His Gambling Empire

At the height of his addiction, Felix, a 50-year-old German man, estimates he lost over €400,000 across three years.

The trauma of a divorce and the burden of isolation drove him deeper. After burning through house-sale proceeds, Felix took out nine loans, scrapped his retirement plan, and spiraled. His main battleground was Wazamba, an online casino where he says his vulnerability was monetized.
Over just six months, he lost €245,000 there. He was given "VIP status", which meant a personal manager was assigned to him and offered instant credit to keep him playing.

Wazamba, it turns out, is part of a large, illicit network of gambling sites connected to Soft2bet, which officially claims to be a B2B gaming software provider, headquartered in Cyprus and Malta.

Soft2bet presents itself as a creator of "custom casino and sportsbook platforms". But the truth runs deeper. Investigate Europe identified ties between Soft2bet and over 140 gambling websites, many of which appear on regulatory blacklists across France, Poland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Hungary.

At least 114 of these platforms have been declared illegal in one or more European states. These figures may be conservative—some countries like Germany and the UK don’t even publish blacklists.

Soft2bet’s name remained hidden through layers of shell companies, domain proxies, and offshore jurisdictions. Evidence gathered from trademark registries, domain ownership logs, and leaked corporate files revealed a trail linking Wazamba, Boomerang, and dozens of other brands to Soft2bet’s leadership.

Many of these sites are registered in Curaçao, Dubai, Gibraltar, and the Marshall Islands — regions known for lax oversight and secrecy. Key entities like Rabidi N.V. and Araxio Development N.V. operated these casinos without valid European licenses.
Court documents show that both Rabidi and Araxio had strong ties to Uri Poliavich and his close associate Denys Butko. At their peak, Rabidi generated over €343 million in revenue (2022). Yet by 2024, both entities had declared bankruptcy — just after transferring their assets elsewhere.

Despite legal victories, including one German court ruling that ordered full restitution to Felix, players have yet to receive their money. Authorities now admit that assets were stripped before bankruptcy proceedings began.

One of Soft2bet’s flagship brands, Boomerang, was blacklisted in at least six EU countries, including Italy, France, and Greece. Still, in July 2024, Boomerang signed a high-profile sponsorship deal with AC Milan, becoming the club’s "regional betting partner" — even though the platform was illegal in Italy at the time.

Between October and December 2024, Boomerang recorded over 17 million visits, mostly from Germany, Spain, and Greece, all regions where it lacks valid licenses. Yet the platform flourishes.

The trademark is held by four Russian nationals, residing in Cyprus and Berlin, who publicly acknowledge links to Soft2bet-related ventures. They also co-own a local real estate business. Despite repeated requests, none responded to interview queries.

Experts say unlicensed gambling has become almost impossible to contain. The internet enables rapid domain switching, offshore hosting, and the launch of clones in hours.

Felix was lucky to trace Wazamba back to Rabidi and pursue a court case. Many others aren’t. RightNow, a German legal firm representing victims, has tried to claim damages from Araxio and Rabidi, but hit walls.

Between 2017 and 2024, Poliavich and Butko used Araxio and Rabidi to launch over 550 gambling domains. Araxio owned the platform tech, Rabidi ran the games.

When these entities became toxic due to lawsuits, a restructuring was triggered. Butko’s Cyprus-registered Interpavabought both companies and transferred rights to a new firm. A fresh shell was created in Curaçao to relicense the same operations.

In 2024, new shells were opened in the Marshall Islands. Soft2bet trademarks like Wazamba and House of Spadeswere shifted from Cyprus to mailbox firms in Dubai.

The result? A complex web of proxies with no direct link to Poliavich, who continues to receive tens of millions in dividends and buy luxury assets across Cyprus, Prague, and Sofia.

Despite growing scrutiny, Soft2bet’s public image is glossy. In 2023, it made €66.8 million in profit, with €57.8 million paid to Poliavich as dividends. That year, he was named “Leader of the Year” at an industry summit.

The company celebrated its 8th anniversary in Budapest, hosting a gala at the Hungarian Museum of National Art.

Yet, behind the champagne lies a murky empire. Even Soft2bet’s legal brands, like Elabet in Italy or Campobet in Denmark, draw far fewer users than the blacklisted sites.

Example: Elabet pulled just 15,000 Italian visitors in Q4 2024, compared to 70+ blacklisted casinos linked to Soft2bet that reached millions.

The COVID-19 pandemic supercharged online gambling. With physical sports halted, players flocked to virtual slot machines — many unregulated.

One Finnish player lost €120,000 to Rabidi-operated sites. When he tried to self-exclude, House of Spades offered him a €50 bonus to keep playing.

“The legal gambling market is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Ismail Vali of Yield Sec. “The rest floats in a sea of criminal activity.”

By mid-2024, Yield Sec estimated 70% of online betting traffic in the EU came from illegal operators. Even conservative estimates place the black market share at 20%+.

Yet the EU lacks a unified gambling framework. Each member state regulates independently — leading to fragmentation and loopholes.

Until then, unlicensed platforms keep luring vulnerable players, unbothered by national authorities.

To confirm the links between Soft2bet and blacklisted casinos, journalists used open-source intelligence (OSINT)methods:

• Domain records showed Araxio was the registrar of multiple Wazamba URLs.
• Trademarks pointed to Outono Ltd, Soft2bet’s former Cyprus holding.
• A Dubai firm named Genetix, tied to Soft2bet’s company secretary, now holds Wazamba’s brand.
• FunID, an app used by Soft2bet, included Wazamba.
• IP addresses linked Wazamba to other Soft2bet-operated platforms.
• Press releases once proudly listed Wazamba as part of Soft2bet’s portfolio.

These overlapping data points leave little doubt: Soft2bet operated and profited from these blacklisted platforms.

Despite mounting criticism, Soft2bet is preparing a new brand launch in Greece, where 55 of its former domains are blacklisted.

Greek authorities claim they found “no verified link” between Rabidi and Soft2bet during licensing. Regulators in Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, and Poland declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Felix is still recovering. He’s blocked his online banking, entered therapy, and repays €1,400/month in debt.