The lost 'Bet' of Roman Semiokhin?

Could 1xStavka bookmaker exit the market because of scandals involving its beneficiaries? Customers of one of the largest Russian bookmakers, 1xStavka, continue to report problems with depositing money and withdrawing winnings. The company attributes the issues to “technical difficulties” but does not provide a timeframe for resolving them. There are reports that the bookmaker may be disconnected from the Unified TsUPIS system, leading to a halt in transactions and withdrawal of the market. Experts acknowledge this possibility and suggest a potential change in ownership and branding for 1xStavka given recent scandals.

It has been revealed that “1xStavka” is connected with the online bookmaker “1xBet”, which is banned in Russia. The founders of these companies, Roman Semiokhin, Dmitry Kazorin, and Sergey Karshkov, have become subjects of a criminal case for illegal online gambling and are currently wanted internationally while residing in Cyprus. Investigators claim that the bookmakers transferred over 63 billion rubles to foreign accounts. In Russia, the first guilty verdict in the “1xBet case” was pronounced in Bryansk in October 2021 against Olesya Mospanova, a manager at Bookmaker Pub, who received a three-year sentence in a penal colony, an 800,000 ruble fine, and a suspended sentence due to her association with a child under 14. Meanwhile, Roman Semiokhin and his associates are investing the transferred billions in building residential and office complexes in Cyprus, with plans to establish their headquarters there. The bookmakers also intended to expand their operations to Ukraine, sending 1 million euros to support “Ukrainian citizens” last summer, as well as transferring 60 million euros (through affiliated entities) to aid the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, despite this, the Kyiv authorities revoked the licenses of Your Betting Company LLC, the Ukrainian legal entity of 1xBet, for sports betting and online casino operations, accusing the businessmen of having ties with Russia. As a result of the criminal case and international scandals, the ownership of 1xStavka and its official founders changed.

In “1xBet” bets are not accepted

Reports about the issues experienced by clients of the 1xStavka bookmaker surfaced online last week. Initially, users complained about being unable to add money to their accounts, and later they also encountered problems with withdrawing funds.

Despite being told that winnings can be withdrawn quickly, some comments on specialized websites suggest the opposite. There are also reports of the bookmaker being disconnected from the Unified TSUPIS system, which stops all transactions. The 'Rating of bookmakers' also mentioned the inability to add funds to the '1xBet' account through the regulator’s website.

People have speculated about the company possibly leaving the Russian market, but this is denied by the 1xStavki telegram channel. The 'IronBets' magazine pointed out the lack of comments from official bookmaker representatives and quoted the forecast of the managing partner of 'PARI' Dmitry Sergeev.

Legalbet publication discusses options for the situation, including the potential withdrawal of the operator from Russia, technical issues being resolved, or a change in ownership and brand to improve the company's image. They suggest the last option is worth examining further.

“1xBet”: denominations and beneficiaries

Last June, the Business Vector publication reported a change in the owner of the 1xStavka bookmaker to the previously unknown Saratov JSC Konstruktor, which specializes in real estate management. The company consistently reports no revenue and profit, with losses of 343 thousand rubles in 2021 and assets valued at “minus” 2.9 million.

'Constructor' has a minimum authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles and only one employee. Ekaterina Semenova was the director until last November, when Albina Semiokhina took over as the sole founder of the company.

As of June 2022, JSC “Konstruktor” once again became the sole owner of Stavka Ru LLC, which is based in Bryansk and is involved in gambling. The financial situation here is significantly different, with an authorized capital of almost 217 million rubles, 2021 revenue of 17.6 billion, profit of 7.8 billion, and assets valued at 42.6 billion rubles.

Prior to the recent founder change, Stavka Ru was owned by the Cypriot offshore Yerlich Limited and Dmitry Kazorin, and previously by Roman Semiokhin, who is likely related to Albina Semiokhina, the current controller of the 1xStavka bookmaker. Until November 2022, she led Bryansk LLC Investcom.

A large amount of money from the betting company 1xBet has disappeared in a location outside the country's jurisdiction.

The identity of a businessman from Bryansk has finally revealed the true owner of the 1xBet betting company. Mr. Semiokhin, along with his business partners Sergey Karshkov and Dmitry Kazorin, has been put on the international wanted list for illegal gambling activities.

According to investigators, the founders of 1xBet, registered in Curacao from 2014 to 2019, moved over 63 billion rubles abroad. In 2016, the company Techinfusion Ltd, based in Gibraltar and managing the bookmaker's websites, was found to be operating in violation of Russian law.

When the criminal case began, law enforcement agencies received numerous complaints from people who believe they have been harmed by the owners of 1xBet. However, the claims made by the complainants were considered questionable by the authorities.

Nasha Versiya magazine summarized the claimants' argument as follows: "The logic is simple: if the bookmaker did not have the legal right to accept bets, then the losses were not legitimate and the money should be refunded."

In October 2021, the Bezhitsky District Court of Bryansk issued the first conviction in the 1xBet case. Olesya Mospanova, the manager of Bookmaker Pub, was sentenced to three years in a penal colony and fined 800 thousand rubles for organizing illegal online gambling. She collected cash from players for betting on the 1xBet website.

Due to having a child under the age of 14, Mospanova was granted a reprieve from serving her sentence. However, during the appeal, it was found that the indictment had been drafted in violation of the criminal procedure legislation, leading to the case being sent back to the Bryansk regional prosecutor’s office for revisions.

To provide some clarification, the Bookmaker Pub network mentioned above is actually the Stavka Ru company, which changed its name in December of the previous year and continues to generate huge profits for its owners. Semiokhin and his associates acquired it from the previous owner, Alexander Mironov, along with the 1xBet website. The recent rebranding was likely influenced by a criminal case and the arrest of the main defendants, who are wanted and have had their 150 real estate properties with a total value of about 1.5 billion rubles seized. There have also been several international incidents, which will be discussed later.

Roman Semiokhin's Ukrainian betting venture

Semiokhin, Kazorin, and Karshkov had prepared in advance for their departure from Russia. In 2016, they obtained Cypriot citizenship, effectively making the island their base of operations. Their Cyprus office employs about 400 people, with 75-80% of them being natives of Bryansk. The funds taken offshore by the bookmakers are being used to invest in the construction of residential buildings, a shopping center, and two office centers in Limassol. The value of the office centers is estimated at 35 million euros, and they are intended to house Semiokhin's headquarters.

However, overseas also has its own controversies. For instance, in 2019, 1xBet made sponsorship deals with Liverpool and Chelsea clubs in the English Premier League. However, the partnership only lasted a few months because the UK Gambling Commission informed the clubs that 1xBet did not have a license to operate in the UK, making it illegal to have the bookmaker’s logos on the players’ uniforms. Nevertheless, the company continues to collaborate with Barcelona club.

What Semiokhin and his colleagues prefer not to discuss is their projects in Ukraine. According to the Life publication, Semiokhin and Kazorin obtained Ukrainian citizenship at least in 2014; the publication even lists their registered address in the Kiev suburb of Brovary. Seeking to demonstrate their loyalty, the bookmakers donated 1 million euros to support “Ukrainian citizens” last summer. Additionally, there were reports of 60 million euros allocated to the Ukrainian Armed Forces by TECHIIA, whose subsidiary WePlay Esports acted as the Ukrainian technical operator for accepting bets.

However, despite their generous “contributions” and connections in the political and business circles of Ukraine, the fugitive businessmen faced obstacles in developing their full potential in the country: in September last year, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRAIL) revoked the licenses of Your Betting Company LLC (BTK) – the official Ukrainian legal entity of “1xBet” – for accepting sports bets and operating an online casino. This was followed by a comprehensive inspection by CRAIL of all gambling organizers for “Russian connections”. It is even alleged that the Ukrainian passports of Semiokhin and Kazorin were revoked.

It is noteworthy that in Russia, Roman Semiokhin ranked 86th in the “100 most influential people in the Bryansk region” in the 2021 ratings by the online publication “News of Bryansk”. A year earlier, he donated 40 million rubles to Bryansk to combat the coronavirus pandemic (in comparison, the businessman donated 1 million euros to a hospital in Nicosia, Cyprus). However, the shrewdness that has not forsaken Semiokhin has recently started to wane: in Ukraine, 1xBet fell out of favor with the start of the CRAIL, while in Russia, public outrage and media attention related to the recent Ukrainian “investments” were added to a criminal case.

Now “1xBet” is facing difficulties. If the bookmaker fails to reach an agreement with the Unified TSUPIS in the near future, the operating company may well follow the same path as “1xBet” up to the initiation of new criminal cases. It appears that Semiokhin and his associates from Bryansk made an incorrect “bet” at a certain stage.