Money-laundering scheme behind unlicensed casinos reveals Latvian links
A journalistic investigation found that at least 24 Estonian companies whose owners or directors are from Latvia were used in a money-laundering scheme tied to unlicensed online casinos. Latvian banks and payment institutions were also involved, though authorities say they cannot disclose details of specific transactions.
An investigation by Latvian Radio's programme "Atvērtie faili" and the news portal Lsm.lv, conducted jointly with the Estonian newspaper Äripäev, has uncovered a scheme in which unlicensed online casinos launder their revenue through dozens of companies registered in Estonia. These companies' owners or directors come from Latvia, while payment transfers were routed through payment institutions in Lithuania, Poland and elsewhere.
Several nominal company owners told journalists they had been approached by acquaintances offering a few hundred euros, while having no knowledge of what the companies actually did. Documents were typically signed at a notary using a power of attorney granted to an Estonian citizen, who then handled the remote registration process. Of roughly 20 such powers of attorney, 13 were certified by a single notary, Inguna Bobrovska.
Disguised transaction codes
To conceal gambling-related payments, the companies listed incorrect merchant category codes in card payment systems — typically codes linked to IT or trade — instead of the gambling code 7995. In one case, newly created companies were referred by the Latvian fintech firm Fyst, though representatives of the related company Fyst Tech categorically deny any involvement, despite a 2024 description on the firm's own website suggesting otherwise.
Two Estonian companies held accounts at the Latvian bank Industra Bank, which in 2021 received funds from gamblers that were later transferred to an Estonian e-money institution. The bank and Latvia's Financial Intelligence Unit declined to comment on specific transactions, citing legal confidentiality requirements.
Market scale
The Latvian Licensed Gambling Association estimates the legal online gambling market was worth about 171 million euros in 2025, while the illegal market amounted to 62 million euros. Researchers project that by 2030 unpaid taxes from illegal casinos could cost Latvia 90 million euros. Since 2014, Latvia's State Revenue Service has issued more than 4,000 decisions blocking illegal gambling websites.
