How black-market betting sites lure Irish punters
About this episode
The episode discusses the investigation into black-market betting sites targeting Irish punters and the implications for gambling regulations and vulnerable users.
Online gambling on black-market betting sites is big business. One company, Soft2Bet, which has been licensed in Ireland since 2022, and its related entities received €600 million from dozens of offshore casinos that regulators in Europe had blacklisted or fined. For gamblers using some of these sites, it means few rules apply. Unauthorised betting sites deliberately target people with gambling addictions and ignore local gambling regulations, including age limits to protect young people. While working on an investigation with cross-border journalism group Investigate Europe, Irish Times investigative reporter with The Irish Times, Mark Tighe discovered that Irish authorities granted gambling licences to six companies at the heart of this global network of black-market betting and casino websites. One of the scheme’s newest websites, OnlySpins, a bookmaker and casino with pornographic content targeting Europeans, does not verify whether Irish users are over the age of 18 or provide checks on a customer’s identity. He also discovered that two Irish companies were processing payments for Soft2Bet-linked unlicensed gambling sites operating in Europe. Soft2Bet is led by…
People in this episode
Host: Bernice Harrison
Guests: Mark Tighe, Uri Poliavich
Topics covered
- black-market betting
- online gambling
- gambling addiction
- Irish regulations
- investigative journalism
Keywords
- black-market betting
- online gambling
- Soft2Bet
- gambling addiction
- Irish authorities
- OnlySpins
- Investigate Europe
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Soft2Bet, Investigate Europe, The Irish Times, OnlySpins
Places: Ireland, Europe
More episodes of In The News
- Does Russia have access to Irish state passwords?
- A life changing e-scooter accident: 'My son was in ICU for five weeks'
- Paul Howard watched every World Cup game – here’s what he learned
- Jamey Carney murder: How will Gardaì bring the chief suspect back to Ireland?
- Was Ann Widdecombe murdered for her political beliefs?
- What happened to Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe?
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the In The News podcast page.