Last Week’s Most Read PHR Posts: 1xBet, SOFTSWISS, MTS Bank, Belarus Ad Ban, and Russia’s New Crypto Law

This week’s digest is less “market update” and more a snapshot of where high-risk payments keep colliding with banking rails, crypto exchanges, and local regulation. The through line is familiar: when the product is offshore, the money flow rarely stays tidy for long.

1. 1xBet allegedly routed millions of USDT through Ukrainian accounts on Binance, Bybit, BingX, and Bitget for years. PHR reviewed criminal case materials, traced the transfer chain, and looked at how funds were moved onward to external wallets.
2. SOFTSWISS was examined in connection with a network of dozens of offshore casinos operating through nominee owners. In 2025, nine company-linked licensed entities in Curaçao reportedly generated about €2 billion in revenue.
3. MTS Bank is still servicing illegal casinos through “MTS Opalata” (“MTS Payment”) — according to a source, up to 3 billion casino rubles a month may be flowing through the bank. The report breaks down the scheme and the bank’s possible exposure.
4. Belarus is moving toward a full ban on outdoor gambling advertising. The proposed rules would remove casino banners from bus stops, train stations, residential buildings, shopping centers, and other public sites.
5. A new crypto law took effect almost a month ago, but there is still no legal infrastructure for ordinary users. For payment and compliance teams, that is the sort of gap that matters more than the headline number of the law itself.