Casino Secrets Leak Exposes Offshore Gambling Network

Published: 26 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A vast cache of confidential regulatory documents has exposed previously hidden details about the ownership, financing and operations of thousands of online casinos operating through Curaçao, potentially creating significant consequences for offshore gambling businesses and regulators responsible for overseeing them.

The leak, known as the Casino Secrets files, contains tens of thousands of documents held within the Curaçao Gaming Authority’s regulatory system. The material reportedly includes information on casino owners, corporate structures, financial arrangements and declarations concerning the origins of wealth used to establish or operate gambling businesses.

The disclosure has placed renewed attention on Curaçao, a Caribbean island that has developed into one of the world’s most important offshore gambling centres. Its licensing system has attracted a huge number of online betting and casino companies, while critics have repeatedly questioned the effectiveness and transparency of its regulatory framework.

The Curaçao Gaming Authority has confirmed that its online portal was subjected to unauthorised access. The regulator described the matter as an ongoing and complex forensic investigation and said it remained committed to transparency while further inquiries were conducted.

The information has particular significance because some of the companies appearing in the leaked material operate internationally and have previously faced allegations concerning their treatment of customers in regulated markets.

Among the businesses identified in the documents is Santeda International, a network of online casinos that has previously been investigated over allegations that some of its gambling websites targeted customers in Britain despite restrictions intended to protect people who had chosen to exclude themselves from gambling.

Previous investigations into the network raised questions about whether some of its casinos accepted British customers without the necessary authorisation from the UK Gambling Commission. Such activity can breach British gambling law, which requires operators targeting consumers in the UK to hold an appropriate licence.

The newly leaked documents have added another layer to questions surrounding the ownership and corporate relationships connected to Santeda.

Information submitted to the Curaçao regulator identifies Georgian businessman Onise Chimakhidze as the owner of Santeda. The documents also contain contact information associated with Upgaming, a company owned and operated by Georgian businessmen.

The relationship between Santeda and Upgaming has previously been disputed. Lawyers representing Upgaming have denied that the company operates the Santeda network and said they could not determine why its contact details appeared in documents submitted by a third party without examining the underlying material.

The lawyers suggested that one possible explanation was a previous commercial relationship between the businesses that had subsequently ended.

The leaked records have nevertheless raised questions because several pieces of information appear to connect individuals and companies associated with the two organisations.

One document submitted to the Curaçao Gaming Authority in 2025 identified Torniki Kapanadze as Santeda’s finance chief. A professional profile for a similarly named individual indicates employment with Upgaming. Lawyers for Upgaming disputed the significance of the connection, noting that the name is relatively common in Georgia and that the spelling differs.

Financial transactions disclosed in the files provide another area of interest. Santeda reportedly extended six loans worth a combined €15.59 million to Buda Capital, a Luxembourg-based company owned by Georgian individuals who also hold interests in or serve as directors of Upgaming.

Upgaming did not provide an explanation for the loans when questioned. Its lawyers said the company believed it was the target of a campaign involving various parties with commercial interests, although they did not provide further details to substantiate that claim.

The files also contain information concerning Oddsbet, a betting business that focused heavily on so-called VIP customers. Documents indicate that the company was owned until 2025 by Robert Bostock, a businessman from Goole in East Yorkshire.

Regulatory documents reportedly stated that Bostock’s source of funds included long-term cryptocurrency investments and a £100,000 loan from another UK-based individual. The business was subsequently sold for $240,000 in 2025, according to the leaked material.

Bostock’s lawyers said the £100,000 loan was never drawn and maintained that the business served customers outside Britain.

Another major name appearing in the documents is BC.Game, an online gambling company that has previously faced allegations concerning UK customers. The company has been accused of continuing to accept British business after giving up its UK gambling licence.

If an operator provides gambling services to British consumers without the required authorisation, it can constitute an offence under the Gambling Act 2005. The UK Gambling Commission has repeatedly warned that operators based outside Britain can still fall within the UK’s regulatory framework when they target British consumers.

The leak also contains information about Stake.com, a major cryptocurrency-focused gambling platform that has had a high-profile presence in international markets and was previously associated with Everton Football Club through a sponsorship arrangement.

Stake withdrew from the British market in 2025 following a series of controversies surrounding its operations. Its Curaçao-registered corporate entity, Medium Rare NV, identified Serbian national Mladen Vučković as its owner in regulatory documents.

According to the leaked material, Vučković declared assets worth more than $1 billion to the Curaçao regulator in 2024.

The ownership information attracted regulatory attention. Authorities reportedly questioned whether Vučković was the ultimate owner of the business after identifying millions of dollars in transactions involving companies connected to Stake founders Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani.

Neither founder appeared as an owner on the relevant Curaçao licence application, according to reporting based on the leaked material. Despite the questions, the regulator issued a licence.

The case has become part of a broader debate about whether offshore gambling regulators adequately investigate the ownership structures and financial backgrounds of companies seeking licences.

For gambling businesses, the implications of the leak could extend well beyond reputational concerns. Regulatory authorities in different countries may examine information from the documents when assessing whether offshore operators have breached local laws, misrepresented ownership or failed to comply with consumer-protection requirements.

The UK is likely to be a particularly important jurisdiction because British authorities maintain strict rules concerning companies that offer gambling services to consumers in the country. Operators cannot avoid British regulation simply by locating their corporate structures or servers overseas if their services are directed towards the UK market.

The UK Gambling Commission said it could not comment specifically on leaked information. However, it stated that illegal gambling activity is taken seriously and that the regulator works with partners to identify and disrupt businesses operating outside the established regulatory framework.

The Curaçao Gaming Authority has taken a more limited public position while its investigation continues. The regulator said it could not answer detailed questions about what it described as an ongoing forensic matter but reiterated its commitment to transparency and said further updates would be provided.

The incident could also intensify scrutiny of Curaçao’s gambling industry itself. The island has become home to a vast online gambling ecosystem, with thousands of casino websites operating through companies registered or licensed there.

Supporters of the jurisdiction’s licensing model have argued that it provides an accessible regulatory environment for international operators and generates economic activity. Critics, however, have questioned whether the scale of the industry can be effectively supervised and whether customers in other countries receive sufficient protection.

The Casino Secrets disclosure brings those questions into sharper focus because regulatory files can reveal information that is not normally visible to customers or the wider public.

Ownership declarations, financial records and correspondence submitted to regulators can provide a much clearer picture of how companies are structured and who ultimately benefits from their operations. At the same time, the appearance of a company or individual in leaked regulatory material does not by itself establish that they have committed an offence.

That distinction is particularly important as regulators and journalists assess the documents. Some allegations contained in or arising from the material may require additional verification, while businesses named in the files may dispute interpretations of their corporate relationships or activities.

The leak also highlights the increasingly international character of online gambling. Companies can be incorporated in one country, licensed in another, operate technology from several jurisdictions and market their services to customers across the world.

Cryptocurrency has added another layer to that structure by allowing some gambling businesses to accept digital assets and conduct financial transactions across borders.

For consumers, the revelations underline the difficulties involved in determining who ultimately operates an online casino. A website may appear to be a simple consumer service, while its ownership, licensing arrangements, payment processing and technology providers can involve a network of companies spread across multiple jurisdictions.

As the Curaçao investigation continues, the leaked files could trigger further scrutiny from regulators in Britain and elsewhere. Authorities may seek to determine whether information in the documents provides evidence of unlawful targeting, inaccurate ownership declarations or other regulatory breaches.

The longer-term impact will depend on what investigators can establish from the files and how regulators respond. For Curaçao, the episode represents another major test of its efforts to demonstrate that its gambling sector can operate under effective oversight.

For the global online gambling industry, meanwhile, the leak demonstrates how confidential regulatory information can expose complex relationships that remain hidden from customers and, in some cases, from regulators themselves.