Melbet Faces Complaints From Pepper.Partners as Russian Authorities Expand Payment-Related Cases Against Illegal Gambling Operators

Pepper.Partners says two affiliates sent casino traffic to Melbet, got approval, and were then cut off after the traffic was already live. For high-risk PSPs, the useful part is not the drama; it is the mechanism: offshore gambling brands with no transparent processing can still end up pulling cards, SBP, and proxy wallets into disputes that later get framed as payment offenses.

1. Pepper.Partners says the traffic did more than hit KPI: according to the dashboard, players were active and generated net profit. Melbet first cited multi-accounts, then "opposite bets," and in a final refusal dated 13 July switched to "quality requirements" as the reason for rejecting the traffic.
2. Melbet is described as a 1xBet affiliate operating for years in the Russian market as a classic offshore operator: without an ECUPIS license, without transparent processing, and with the usual workarounds. The reported payment flow included deposits through personal bank cards and SBP, with withdrawals routed through proxy wallets in the CIS.
3. The source says the legal risk is shifting. Where operators used to face administrative cases and domain blocks, law enforcement is now bringing in Article 187 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal circulation of payment means) and Article 210.1 of the Russian Criminal Code for organizing an organized criminal group, a charge already familiar in the casino vertical.
4. The practical consequence for owners is straightforward: instead of merely losing mirror domains, beneficiaries may have to explain to investigators whose cards were used in circulation. The source says some beneficiaries are already re-registering assets and bringing in lawyers from the CIS.
5. For payment providers, the signal is that offshore gambling brands can turn a processing dispute into a criminal-file problem once infrastructure pressure forces them to reshuffle payment rails. If a merchant is suddenly moving between proxies, cards, and settlement paths, the compliance story can change fast, and not in a way that helps anyone keep the MID alive.

The source also frames Melbet as part of the broader 1xBet offshore ecosystem operating against Russian retail demand, with mirror domains multiplying once blocks appear. That matters for PSPs because the commercial upside of traffic can be erased quickly when the payment chain itself becomes evidence.