Inside the Iranian Online Gambling Network That Routed Billions Through Dubai

[tread93]

The latest story of money laundering and sanction evasion has emerged from the heart of a betting network. According to an exclusive investigative report by Reuters, a vast, illegal online gambling network operating in the Persian language managed to transfer at least $4 billion through an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange named Shelbit. The exchange served not only as a processing engine for betting sites, but also as a critical financial bridge moving funds between sanctioned Iranian economic entities and the global financial market.

https://irannewswire.org/iran-gambling-crypto-network-4-billion-dubai/

Perhaps this could be the biggest news on how Iran was able to stay afloat and even if they are being sanctions by the West, they continue to have funds along the way with billions into this unlicensed crypto exchange until  Dubai Financial Services Authority ordered Shelbit to immediately cease all operations.

But even if they've shutdown this, there could be other unlicensed crypto exchange that will be used by Iran to go around and circumvent the sanctions and earn billions thru illegal gambling sites.

So it's very hard to disrupt them and going to be cat-and-mouse game of US and the West and Iran.

Holy shit, this war even dips into gambling! Its one thing to take out their power and gas sources their two main sources of earnings id wager but its a lot harder to track down a plethora of crypto gambling sites. It can happen but it'll be slower. You're right about the cat and mouse games

[xenomorfo]

Holy shit, this war even dips into gambling! Its one thing to take out their power and gas sources their two main sources of earnings id wager but its a lot harder to track down a plethora of crypto gambling sites. It can happen but it'll be slower. You're right about the cat and mouse games

This means that those who wage war have practically evolved.
They have found alternative ways of making money, a bit like North Korea, if I'm not mistaken, hacks things to steal money.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I've read similar news.
Iran has decided to focus on gambling, crazy.

[BRINIRHA]

They should accept the fact that gambling is innate to humans and they will always play no matter what. Regulation will also give income to the government. So why not regulate it instead of total ban. Total banning of this activity will give black market to rise and the income will not go to their government. This is why it is being coursed thru other neighboring countries that will accept their gambling money.

But isn't that an ironic thing?
Since the beginning of Iran considers that gambling is illegal because it is not in accordance with the understanding of the religion professed and the culture owned but on the one hand just because they want to try to make them able to withstand the onslaught from all sides then they rule it out by making gambling as one of the fields to make them profit.
Although this may make them survive geopolitical problems but is not this being hypocritical in the end where they say they have made gambling illegal but on the one hand they themselves are the ones who actually set it up for personal gain.

I don't like the US and Israel in the form of geopolitical problems that occur but on the one hand with what is happening now I also don't really respect what Iran does in the end because to me they also look the same as the US and Israel do for this where they put aside all forms of things including what has been believed before just because it is for personal interests.

[Emitdama]

Holy shit, this war even dips into gambling! Its one thing to take out their power and gas sources their two main sources of earnings id wager but its a lot harder to track down a plethora of crypto gambling sites. It can happen but it'll be slower. You're right about the cat and mouse games

Yeah, in my opinion as well, casino income stream cannot match with what they could earn from oil and gas. But, when they are dealing in mass, it may somehow support them for persisting in the war still not sure how big their gambling operations are. I understand that they are generating cryptocurrency through illegal casino operations and then making use of local exchanges to cash out those cryptocurrencies. I guess, there would be some big crypto master mind behind all of these plans but compared to withstanding against USA in war for months, it may not be a big deal.

They have found alternative ways of making money, a bit like North Korea, if I'm not mistaken, hacks things to steal money.

Yeah, possible. The worst case of war may lead them to anywhere like going beyond all morals. I am really afraid of recent hack on coldcard and I wish this kind of things should be continued in any means. But, nothing is in our hand except protecting our saving with all suggested procedures.

[Dunamisx]

I also came across a similar news about how Iran has been using bitcoin and other cryptocurrency to evade sanction but I don't know of this recent one that talks about the use of a gambling platform to orchestra for some of these transactions they do, possibly in an illegal way, I think they are more smarter when it comes to decision making in order to evade sanctions, they have been making use of exchanges and I think more concentration will be on exchange and that is where they have shifted to gambling casinos, which I don't see is as a bad idea as long as it's not going to be an illegal transaction.

[qurbanshah02]

I also came across a similar news about how Iran has been using bitcoin and other cryptocurrency to evade sanction but I don't know of this recent one that talks about the use of a gambling platform to orchestra for some of these transactions they do, possibly in an illegal way, I think they are more smarter when it comes to decision making in order to evade sanctions, they have been making use of exchanges and I think more concentration will be on exchange and that is where they have shifted to gambling casinos, which I don't see is as a bad idea as long as it's not going to be an illegal transaction.

The most profitable thing that Iran has is oil and right now oil is not profitable for it and they are making a budget for themselves with such things. If this story is true then Iran has actually made so much money with a very rational thinking. The way Iran has made this money through Dubai, I think Dubai is unaware of it because Iran and Dubai are also at war, due to which they have made money even in their absence. Iran is considered less in crypto matters, which is why they should be better at it. If they continue to make money from gambling in the same way, which is not from their own country, then it will have a very bad effect against them. Iran knows that oil is not a big income for them, but gambling can make them a lot of money, for this they have to strengthen their belief.

[davis196]

The latest story of money laundering and sanction evasion has emerged from the heart of a betting network. According to an exclusive investigative report by Reuters, a vast, illegal online gambling network operating in the Persian language managed to transfer at least $4 billion through an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange named Shelbit. The exchange served not only as a processing engine for betting sites, but also as a critical financial bridge moving funds between sanctioned Iranian economic entities and the global financial market.

Illegal gambling network operating in the Persian language? Illegal according to which legislation? The Iranian legislation or the UAE legislation?
Is this a strictly Iran-based gambling network, since it's using the Persian language? This implies that the betting platform is illegal in Iran, am I wrong?
Anyways, such news can only be used by the crypto haters to spread hate about crypto gambling and say things like "crypto is bad because totalitarian regimes use it to avoid sanctions" and "gambling is bad, because the casinos are big money laundering machines". The BS will never stop. Iran, Russia and North Korea would always find new ways to go around the western sanctions. This is a never ending battle.

[Japinat]

The BS will never stop. Iran, Russia and North Korea would always find new ways to go around the western sanctions. This is a never ending battle.

Exactly, bro. The US acts like it has the right to control global rules, but the standard changes when its allies are involved. Crypto is another threat to that control because sanctioned countries can use it to move money outside the usual system. That’s probably why governments are now trying harder to regulate it, but they can never stop it.

[DrBeer]

Politics aside, I think we can talk here about how money laundering can be carried out through gambling. Suppose you have a billion dollars of dirty money. You bet with big stakes on a gambling site, wagering tens of millions per day and eventually, even though your wins are much less than what you have won, you can withdraw those money and then it comes "washed", clean money, the source of which you can explain - you won it in casino.

This are One of the reason today a lot licensed casinos  have a strict AML and KYC checks, things that are often flagged for investigation are unusual betting pattern, massive withdrawals and also lage deposit. Gambling is mostly being abused through money laundering, and also to know it not simple as that of playing little and cashing out, all this tactics regulators and casinos are so much aware of it, that is why any suspicious transactions they do monitor the transactions closely.

It is precisely this kind of criminal use of platforms for entirely legitimate activities that leads to stricter controls, licensing requirements, AML, and KYC measures....
The more often such platforms are used for criminal activities, the more attention they will receive from the government.  So we know who to thank for these inconveniences and the biased attitude on the part of the platforms.

[Taskford]

Politics aside, I think we can talk here about how money laundering can be carried out through gambling. Suppose you have a billion dollars of dirty money. You bet with big stakes on a gambling site, wagering tens of millions per day and eventually, even though your wins are much less than what you have won, you can withdraw those money and then it comes "washed", clean money, the source of which you can explain - you won it in casino.

This are One of the reason today a lot licensed casinos  have a strict AML and KYC checks, things that are often flagged for investigation are unusual betting pattern, massive withdrawals and also lage deposit. Gambling is mostly being abused through money laundering, and also to know it not simple as that of playing little and cashing out, all this tactics regulators and casinos are so much aware of it, that is why any suspicious transactions they do monitor the transactions closely.

It is precisely this kind of criminal use of platforms for entirely legitimate activities that leads to stricter controls, licensing requirements, AML, and KYC measures....
The more often such platforms are used for criminal activities, the more attention they will receive from the government.  So we know who to thank for these inconveniences and the biased attitude on the part of the platforms.

This is usually how it ends up because government will take action towards those illegal activities done by those criminal. Once they know that they are using those platforms as escape route or launder money. Then those actions like strict AML/KYC will going to happen.

With those reason sometimes I understand those actions done by government. Because for doing such thing they are trying to stop those criminals to abuse the system. So with those strict implementation happening now. Its good to blame those bad actors, because those people doing clean actions are the one suffering with those strict changes made by government.

[Natalim]

This is usually how it ends up because government will take action towards those illegal activities done by those criminal. Once they know that they are using those platforms as escape route or launder money. Then those actions like strict AML/KYC will going to happen.

I think that requirement was already in place even before any suspicion or unusual activity happened. AML and KYC are basic requirements, thats why gamblers are asked to comply with them.

Some casinos just dont require KYC right away. They allow you to deposit and play first, but once big money starts coming in, thats usually when verification becomes automatic. So its not really that KYC does not apply, sometimes the casino only delays it until the account reaches a certain level or triggers a review.

With those reason sometimes I understand those actions done by government. Because for doing such thing they are trying to stop those criminals to abuse the system. So with those strict implementation happening now. Its good to blame those bad actors, because those people doing clean actions are the one suffering with those strict changes made by government.

Like i said, its a basic requirement...  one can operate a casino without those, they are illegal casinos..

[Smartprofit]

I believe that many fish, birds, and even animals freely cross national borders. However, they don't have passports and aren't registered in any government registry. 🙋

Why? Because it's natural for living beings to move freely around the world. Likewise, it's perfectly natural for financial capital (as well as information and technology) to flow freely between different countries.

In fact, that's why Bitcoin was created. That's why the Internet was created.

International economic sanctions, unfortunately, harm more than just the countries they're imposed on. They harm everyone, in every country. Competition is reduced. Systemic inefficiency increases.

Besides being harmful, international economic sanctions are also useless. They will always be circumvented. The reason they're so successfully circumvented is described in Alexandre Dumas's novel "Ascanio." Alexandre Dumas wrote the following: "Successful escapes from impenetrable prisons happen quite often. There's nothing surprising about that.  A jailer may forget he's guarding a prisoner, but the prisoner never forgets he's in prison." That's the case with all restrictions and prohibitions. They're ineffective. I think we need to manage our world differently. Otherwise, everything will turn out like in this news story.

[348Judah]

I will always say this that Iran need to definitely consider bitcoin at this stage they are if they truly want to evade the effect of sanction over them completely, all this one that they will make a transaction today and got discovered tomorrow and traced everything about them is not open with the situation because they are all going to be used against them, but when they adopt bitcoin as a legal tender, give them the full scale of using Bitcoin for every transactions, you could also device several means to engage in privacy while making their transactions securely under this network.

[Gozie51]

But even if they've shutdown this, there could be other unlicensed crypto exchange that will be used by Iran to go around and circumvent the sanctions and earn billions thru illegal gambling sites.

So it's very hard to disrupt them and going to be cat-and-mouse game of US and the West and Iran.

You are right... It is going to be more like rat race with sanctions on Iran. Just as I felt Russia would have been crushed with all the sanctions engineered by US but Russia is still standing very much so. What sanctions do is to intensify the already fragile economic systems of other weaker countries with slight increase in inflation on the stronger economies. Unlicensed casinos exist because of situations like this, the uncover scene left untraced especially with bitcoin. I won't be surprised that there are other casinos that money flow through Iran just as you have alluded. Sanctions don't affect countries they are meant for rather they grow more affiliations to survive.

[r_victory]

Four billion dollars is a lot of money. I saw that a portion, $125 million, was transferred directly to their central bank and the IRGC. But isn't gambling prohibited over there? Apparently, anything goes when it comes to evading sanctions, even violating their own rules.

[Awaklara]

Four billion dollars is a lot of money. I saw that a portion, $125 million, was transferred directly to their central bank and the IRGC. But isn't gambling prohibited over there? Apparently, anything goes when it comes to evading sanctions, even violating their own rules.

We know how that country has been under pressure from the US for a very long time. But they’ve still managed to hold on and even develop their military capabilities. They’ve found ways to make money that are hard for their opponents to track or freeze. I guess the longer the tensions in the Middle East go on, the more other facts will come out in the media.

[Alex077]

I will always say this that Iran need to definitely consider bitcoin at this stage they are if they truly want to evade the effect of sanction over them completely

I don't think main problem was the failure to use Bitcoin. If a state or large network is to be involved in liquidity or international trade then it will ultimately have to rely on centralized infrastructure somewhere. And that is where enforcement opportunities will arise. So even if Shelbit closes another intermediary will take its place if incentive is same.

you could also device several means to engage in privacy while making their transactions securely under this network.

Another thing is that Bitcoin is not privacy coin. On-chain transaction are permanently public, so I don't think that simply making Bitcoin legal tender can avoid sanction. Just changing asset does not ensure privacy, their custody model and operational security are equally important.

[Hazink]

But even if they've shutdown this, there could be other unlicensed crypto exchange that will be used by Iran to go around and circumvent the sanctions and earn billions thru illegal gambling sites.

Do they really need to use unlicensed exchange? If the exchange is operating in a country, they can give it a permit to operate. The only place it won't have to gain license is other countries which it will be providing service to, but it won't completely have to be unlicensed.

So it's very hard to disrupt them and going to be cat-and-mouse game of US and the West and Iran

As long as crypto is a concern, there will always be a way for a country to face sanctions and as long as there are also people willing to deal with them.

[DrBeer]

Politics aside, I think we can talk here about how money laundering can be carried out through gambling. Suppose you have a billion dollars of dirty money. You bet with big stakes on a gambling site, wagering tens of millions per day and eventually, even though your wins are much less than what you have won, you can withdraw those money and then it comes "washed", clean money, the source of which you can explain - you won it in casino.

This are One of the reason today a lot licensed casinos  have a strict AML and KYC checks, things that are often flagged for investigation are unusual betting pattern, massive withdrawals and also lage deposit. Gambling is mostly being abused through money laundering, and also to know it not simple as that of playing little and cashing out, all this tactics regulators and casinos are so much aware of it, that is why any suspicious transactions they do monitor the transactions closely.

It is precisely this kind of criminal use of platforms for entirely legitimate activities that leads to stricter controls, licensing requirements, AML, and KYC measures....
The more often such platforms are used for criminal activities, the more attention they will receive from the government.  So we know who to thank for these inconveniences and the biased attitude on the part of the platforms.

This is usually how it ends up because government will take action towards those illegal activities done by those criminal. Once they know that they are using those platforms as escape route or launder money. Then those actions like strict AML/KYC will going to happen.

With those reason sometimes I understand those actions done by government. Because for doing such thing they are trying to stop those criminals to abuse the system. So with those strict implementation happening now. Its good to blame those bad actors, because those people doing clean actions are the one suffering with those strict changes made by government.

This is a classic problem: for example, when fields are treated for pests, in addition to the intended benefit (eliminating pests), there is often a side effect-other species suffer, either directly or indirectly!
And here, the range of solutions is limited-either we accept the damage caused by pests, in which case, in this particular example, people and other species in the ecosystem will soon be left without food, or we continue the fight, accepting certain sacrifices. Unfortunately, there is simply no third option....

[Texac]

I think western news agencies are completely misleading interpreting this story.

If the sites were operating in the Persian language it was not at all a hot sanctions evasion.
Rather, it was about moving funds from the pockets of the working people of Iran into the pockets of whoever controls the casinos.
And in western standards, things are much more shady.

Yes, no doubt just because a website operates in Persian obviously does not prove that it is being used to bypass sanction.
But in my opinion it is important to separate two different issue here. Frst one is gambling itself and possible exploitation of gambler. Second one is financial infrastructure behind these casino.
You know, there has been plenty of case involving money laundering and other violation even among regulated operator. But there is still pretty big difference between saying that and claiming that licensed casino are mostly controlled by mafia or shell company. You must need some serious evidence if you wanna make such broad claim.

It doesn't matter if a casino is based in Iran, Dubai, Europe or USA. We should know who the real owner are. Where does money come from and where does it go? And the operator's activities should be subject to independent oversight.

So I won't reduce this story to simply saying, West calls another casino illegal while calling its own legal. Real issue is how transparent a particular operator actually is and whether there is any actual oversight of its finance & ownership.
License doesn't automatically make business honest. But at the same time, not trusting some licensed casino doesn't mean there's no value in regulation.