1XBet Declared Bankrupt in a Dutch Court
1xBet, a Russian bookmaker and a sponsor of several esports organizations through sponsorships, has officially been declared bankrupt by the Dutch Supreme Court.
Earlier in June 2022, the company was declared bankrupt by the Dutch Caribbean Island of Curacao, and this recent declaration by a Dutch court is a confirmation of the ruling.
1xBet has been the sponsor of multiple teams, in the esports space, such as Tundra Esports, in a deal announced in November 2022. OG esports’ TI11 Bootcamp Blog was directly sponsored by 1xBet.
The company also had deals with Team Spirit, MiBR, WePlay, and according to a post on Asia Gaming Brief, not a single major tournament under the auspices of ESL takes place without the support of 1xBet.
1xBet is also a prominent sponsor of football teams, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
The Case Against 1xBet
1xBet was accused of not paying bettors. It has become notorious as a bookmaker for not honoring winnings, poor service, slow withdrawals, and accusations of scamming. For example, on the UK Trustpilot website (The UK is one of the few countries that still allows 1xBet to operate), their average star rating sits at two stars, with a 68% one-star rating.
Some of the reviews about the operator, is from bettors who weren’t allowed to withdraw winnings. One person stated that after contacting 1xBet’s support and providing them with bank statement, they immediately stopped replying. Another person details how it’s all “a big scam,” pleading to others: “Guys do not fall in this trap!”
1xBet and Controversies
Overall, things are not looking bright for the betting company. As they seem to be having issues with various countries on legal and regulatory issues.
In 2021, it has issues with operating license in Russia and lost its license to operate in Ukraine in 2022, and their parent company, 1xCorp is also currently the subject of a case brought by Foundation for Representation of Victims of Online Gaming (SBGOK), which represents bettors claiming to be owed roughly $887,750 worth of winnings.
The betting company’s bankruptcy was covered initially by investigative sports journalism site Josimar, on Jan. 20th.
Is There any Repercussion for the Esports Teams Sponsored by 1xBet?
1xBet is a jersey sponsor for teams like OG, Tundra, Team Spirit and MiBR so it’s likely that losing a major sponsor may have an impact. The extent to which it might affect team if at all, is still uncertain.
Tournament organizers ESL and WePlay will likely go unscathed from 1xBet’s current predicament, as their newer sources of investment mean a single betting sponsor won’t likely affect their bottom line.
At the time of writing, 1xBet remains on promotional materials for OG, Team Spirit, and Tundra, including their current Twitter banners, and several team’s current season jersey’s still feature the sponsor.
Source: https://esports.gg/
