Crypto Casino Ownership: A Complex Web of Regulation and Risk

The crypto casino industry has been plagued by inconsistent and often inaccurate reporting of ownership. A recent investigation into five major brands revealed that this is largely due to a combination of factors, including regulatory changes, enforcement pressure, banking restrictions, and bankruptcy.

The National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) in Curaçao, which came into effect in December 2024, has had a significant impact on the industry. The reform eliminated the old master-license system, where one entity could sublicense dozens of unrelated brands with minimal oversight. However, it does not require each individual brand to hold a separate license.

This has led to confusion and inconsistent reporting of ownership. For example, mBit is currently sharing a license with 7Bit, Mirax, and KatsuBet under Scores55 Tech B.V., which is the expected shape of post-reform licensing. However, this does not necessarily mean that these brands are owned by the same entity.

Regulatory enforcement has also been a factor in ownership changes. Australia's ACMA issued formal warnings against Dama N.V. repeatedly between 2022 and 2025, across more than a dozen brands. This has led to pressure on operators to distance themselves from certain corporate identities, even if the underlying business continues.

Banking restrictions have also played a role in ownership changes. Card networks maintain shared blacklists for merchants with excessive chargebacks or fraud flags. Once an entity is on this list, there is effectively no path back except operating under a new one.

Finally, bankruptcy has been a factor in ownership changes. BC.Game's operators were declared bankrupt by a Curaçao court in November 2024, following claims that player funds went unpaid.