A joint investigation by Investigate Europe and The Guardian has linked the Swiss-Georgian iGaming software provider Upgaming to a network of unlicensed online casinos operating in the UK and EU.
Based on an analysis of domain records and corporate documents from Switzerland, Curacao, Malta, Cyprus, Georgia, and Germany, the investigation reveals that Upgaming is connected to at least eight unlicensed casino websites targeting European players. The iGN editorial team highlights the following findings from the investigation:
The eight sites associated with Upgaming, managed by operator Santeda International (licensed in Curacao), attracted an average of 2.3 million unique visitors from the UK per month from November 2025 to January 2026, according to SimilarWeb data. The sites include Rolletto (667k), Velobet (534k), Cosmobet (320k), Goldenbet (292k), MyStake (289k), Donbet (168k), Freshbet (19k), and Jackbit (8.6k).
Domain records suggest that Upgaming or its CEO Tornike Tvarauri allegedly registered several casino domains, including Velobet. Tvarauri is also believed to have registered the domain for the affiliate program Affision, which promotes Santeda brands.
The investigation indicates that Upgaming registered a number of domains, including nongamstopbookies.org, targeting over 500,000 UK players registered in the national self-exclusion system GamStop. These sites promoted Santeda brands, including Goldenbet and MyStake.
Regulators in France, Italy, and Poland have blacklisted Velobet, while regulators in Greece and Sweden have blacklisted Santeda.
MyStake was promoted through allegedly fake partnerships. Several articles claimed a sponsorship deal with the English football club Leeds United and ambassadorship of Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho. The owner of MyStake was named as one Andres Markou, but journalists found no other mentions of him online outside these articles. The club denied the partnership, and a source close to Ronaldinho stated that the meeting did not occur. An analysis by The Guardian and Reality Defender indicated that joint images of Markou and Ronaldinho were likely generated using AI or digitally altered.
The original name of Santeda International was Onyxion, which is also the name of the Maltese Onyxion Malta, owned by Tvarauri. Spain fined Onyxion Malta €5 million in 2023 for unlicensed gambling activities.
The revenue of Upgaming's Cypriot subsidiary was €26 million for 2023. According to Cypriot reports, Upgaming issued loans of €6.5 million to a development project company in Tbilisi involving Tvarauri.
Upgaming's lawyers denied the company's involvement in illegal gambling activities, stating that Santeda was merely a client using the company's software. On March 27, Upgaming announced the termination of its partnership with Santeda due to unregulated presence in jurisdictions with restrictions.
Of the eight identified sites, the UK Gambling Commission requested Google to remove five, but all eight remain accessible through search results.