Iran Busts Huge UK-Based Online Gambling Scheme

The Iranian government has reported busting a huge UK-based gambling operation. The illegal scheme was reportedly the biggest gambling and betting online network in the country.

According to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, the fraudulent scheme was operated from the United Kingdom. On Saturday, the ministry reported that it had finally been busted, following an extensive period of intelligence research and surveillance. Overall, the ministry’s investigation ran for 14 months.

After busting the gambling network, the ministry reported that the criminals used some 54 gambling and betting sites to illegally acquire huge sums of money. A total of 35,006 bank accounts and 1,200 payment gateways were involved in the scheme, according to official data.

In addition, Iranian authorities managed to arrest five managers who were responsible for operating the Nitro Bet network and the Pardakht.me payment gateway. The arrestees have been charged with a variety of crimes, including the operation of online gambling sites, the procuring of illegal money and economic sabotage.

Iran Accuses the UK of Turning a Blind Eye to the Fraud

The Iranian authorities added that the illegal scheme was also guilty of promoting gambling in the country and seeking to normalize the practice of wagering money in Iran. Iran, for reference, prohibits gambling, as per the teachings of Islam.

The scheme was allegedly based in London and, according to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, would transfer a big part of its proceeds to the UK. Iran referred to it as a “London-based mafia network” and accused the UK government of not taking action.

The ministry claimed that British authorities would simply ignore the network’s activities because of the tax money it received thanks to them. The Iranian authorities said that the UK government was basically “paving the way” for the criminal gambling network’s operations.

Iran Previously Dealt with the Proliferation of Crypto Mining

The Iranian government previously had to deal with crypto mining as, three years ago, the proliferation of cryptocurrencies led to power supply issues in the country. Iran was thus forced to adopt an unwelcoming stance on crypto mining, suspend mining activities and seize mining gear.

Iran eventually allowed people to mine crypto under a mining license requirement introduced in 2022.