Roman Semiokhin bet on the wrong horse
The 1xStavka company, one of the top three gambling companies in the Russian gambling market, is on the verge of disappearing. Its founder, Roman Semiokhin, is abroad and is not rushing to face justice. The bookmaker has been disconnected from the TsUPIS system, and customers can't add funds to their accounts. It appears that the company couldn't hide its connections with the illegal 1xBet office in Russia, which either provided money for Cypriot healthcare or supported Ukrainian armed groups.
In mid-January, 1xStavka's clients became concerned as they couldn't deposit money into their accounts. Many posts about this issue surfaced on the Internet. The bookmaker's telegram channel acknowledged the problem, assuring it would be resolved soon and offering players bonuses for their patience. However, it was later revealed that the inability to add funds was not due to technical issues but because 1xBet was disconnected from the system, violating Russian law. This means 1xStavka is operating outside the law and may not be able to continue in Russia. What could be the cause of this and what could be the consequences for this major bookmaker?
Scandal after scandal
It's well-known that “1xBet” has been involved in multiple scandals, often due to its ties with the unlicensed 1xBet office for betting in Russia. Despite denying the connection, 1xBet is considered the “legal mirror” of this underground bookmaker.
A while back, the FAS ordered FC Lokomotiv to remove the 1xBet logo from players’ uniforms, placed there as per the sponsor – “1xBet”. But that’s not all.
1xBet faced another scandal in 2020 when the company's founder, Roman Semiokhin, donated a million euros to a Cypriot hospital to combat the coronavirus. This upset Russians, who felt the Bryansk billionaire neglected domestic healthcare needs.
Another controversial donation occurred recently, in the summer of 2022, when 1xBet donated a million euros “for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.”
“We hope that thanks to this money, many Ukrainians will be able to receive urgent practical support,” stated the company’s website.
Even though 1xBet identifies as a “global company” registered in Cyprus, the clear connection to the 1xStavka bookmaker, licensed in Russia, exposes its Russian roots (although the leadership avoids discussing this). Given the current global situation, public financial support to Ukraine was particularly outrageous.
Additionally, the company's betting activities raise numerous questions. According to online reviews, players frequently encounter issues when trying to withdraw their winnings.
“When I tried to take out money from my BC card, they asked me to prove my account. I sent them a letter, but they purposefully took a long time and kept asking for new documents every 3 days. They wanted me to send: 1) a photo of my passport, 2) a photo of the card, 3) a statement for the card, 5) a passport photo of the card holder, 6) a contract with the mobile operator, 7) a photo with my passport in hand in front of some correspondence, 8) a photo of another card that I hadn't used for a long time, 9) a PDF bank statement, 10) a paper bank statement, 11) a photo of my taxpayer identification number, 12) a screenshot from the tax office website. I've had my account for 5 years and have already gone through complete verification, including using the State Services. I used the betting site a lot and lost a lot of money, but they only asked for this “verification” when I started winning, so that they could keep people from taking their money. I plan to report them to the prosecutor's office and take them to court,” is just one of many similar reviews about the 1xStavka betting company on specialized sites.
The usual response to player complaints is “verification is standard for all bookmaker players”, and the time it takes to complete it is “different for each user”.
It should be mentioned that the founders of the company, Roman Semiokhin, Sergey Karshkov and Dmitry Kazorin, were put on the wanted list in 2020 as defendants in a criminal case initiated by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Bryansk Region under Part 3 of Art. 171.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal organization and conduct of gambling). According to the investigation, an organized group generated income of over 63 billion rubles from illegal gambling activities from October 2014 to May 2019. This figure is similar to the budget of the entire Bryansk region for that period.
Considering all this, it seems that the regulator has simply become impatient. We may also see new criminal cases based on the results of the bookmaker's controversial activities.
The place is never empty
The market share that was previously held by “1xBet” is estimated by gambling industry experts to be at least 10-12%. If such a major player disappears from the market, competitors will be happy to take over. In the near future, we will likely see intense advertising campaigns from bookmakers trying to attract the “freed” audience, and bettors will fiercely debate which bookmaker will be more profitable and safer for them.
