Cresus Casino: the end of an illegal empire
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14 Oct 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes It’s the end of an illegal online gambling empire. Behind the apparent success of Cresus Casino, a sprawling network of offshore companies generated almost a billion euros illegally. The arrest in Paris of two French executives reveals the backstage workings of a system that was as lucrative as it was illegal.
The empire collapses in Paris
The curtain has come down on one of the largest illegal online gambling networks in Europe. Two French nationals, alleged heads of the Cresus Casino website, were arrested and remanded in custody in Paris. They are accused of having built, since 2021, a digital empire generating nearly a billion euros in sales, hidden behind dubious shell companies and foreign licences.
Behind a facade of luxury and promises of quick profits, a formidably efficient system had been set up.
A sprawling network concealed in tax havens
According to the initial findings of the investigation, Cresus Casino was operated via two companies based in Curaçao and Cyprus, territories well known for their flexible gambling legislation. This arrangement would have enabled the directors to circumvent European regulations, while giving their platforms the appearance of legality.
But behind the glitz and glamour lay an opaque organisation. Mirror sites were created as soon as a domain was blocked by the authorities, allowing the business to continue under new addresses. Financial flows were channelled through a patchwork of bank accounts in the Czech Republic, Cyprus and other offshore jurisdictions.
Investigators from the Service central des courses et jeux (SCCJ) and the Office anti-cybercriminalité (Ofac), commissioned by Junalco (Juridiction nationale de lutte contre la criminalité organisée), traced these circuits over more than a year. Analysis of several bank accounts revealed traces of €92.6 million in suspicious transfers between February 2022 and May 2025.
The French investigation uncovered at least four other platforms operating under the Cresus Casino umbrella: Jackpot Bob, Lucky 8, Casino Privé and Olympe Casino. All used the same modus operandi: foreign licences, hidden servers and targeted advertising campaigns. According to the prosecutor, these sites received more than a million visits a month, 98% of them from France. This figure illustrates the scope of the phenomenon and the ease with which French players could access these prohibited offers.
A billion euros, a business without a licence
In June 2024, the French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) ordered the blocking of cresuscasino.com following numerous reports. But the formal notices went unheeded. As soon as one site closed, another reappeared.
The prosecutor describes a complete ecosystem: aggressive marketing, paid influencers, affiliations and targeted advertising on social media. It was a well-oiled machine, aimed mainly at French-speaking players, who were sometimes lured by promises of huge bonuses and instant withdrawals. In reality, victims’ accounts tell a different story: winnings never paid out, accounts frozen and deposits impossible to recover.
Some of the hundreds of complaints received involve real financial tragedies. Individuals, believing they were playing on a legal site, lost several thousand euros with no possibility of recourse. In 2022-2023, deposits recorded on Cresus and its associated sites totalled €237 million, according to the authorities.
Already in the sights of Belgium
This is not the first time that Cresus Casino has attracted the attention of the authorities. Back in 2015, Belgium’s Gaming Commission (GC) placed the site on its blacklist. This listing means that access to the site must be blocked by Belgian ISPs and that any player taking part is liable to administrative sanctions.
Exemplary penalties to follow
The two directors under investigation face heavy penalties: up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a €750,000 fine for money laundering in an organised gang, as well as several years’ imprisonment for illegal gambling, prohibited advertising and participation in a criminal organisation.
The arrest of the directors of Cresus Casino may mark the end of an era when illegal operators thrived in the grey areas of the digital world. The ANJ, the GC and their European counterparts are now working towards stricter joint regulation, backed up by stronger blocking tools and dissuasive penalties.