Illegal Gambling Empire Allegedly Helped Move Billions for Iran Through Crypto Network
More Than 2,000 Gambling Websites, a Dubai Crypto Exchange and at Least $4 Billion in Transactions Are at the Center of a Massive International Investigation
By HamptonINT | Where the Streets Meet the Stats
What looks like an online gambling operation may have been something much bigger.
A sprawling network of more than 2,000 gambling websites has been linked through blockchain evidence to a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange that processed at least $4 billion in cryptocurrency since May 2024, according to a Reuters investigation.
The network allegedly connected illegal gambling proceeds, cryptocurrency markets, sanctioned Iranian entities and financial channels tied to Iran.
If the allegations hold, this wasn’t simply an underground sportsbook operation.
It was potentially an international financial pipeline.
FROM ONLINE BETS TO BILLIONS IN CRYPTO
At the center of the investigation is Shelbit, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai.
According to Reuters, blockchain data connected Shelbit to a massive Farsi-language gambling network consisting of more than 2,000 websites.
The exchange reportedly processed at least $4 billion in cryptocurrency since May 2024.
But investigators found something even more significant.
Blockchain evidence allegedly connected parts of the network with Iran’s central bank and other sanctioned Iranian entities.
That raises the stakes considerably.
Illegal gambling traditionally generates concerns about tax evasion, fraud and money laundering.
But once gambling proceeds begin moving through cryptocurrency networks connected to sanctioned organizations and international financial markets, the operation enters an entirely different category.
We’re no longer talking about somebody running an illegal sportsbook from the back room.
We’re talking about potentially moving billions of dollars across borders.
ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST ILLEGAL GAMBLING NETWORKS
Former Infoblox senior threat researcher John Wojcik described the gambling operation to Reuters as the largest illegal gambling network identified in Iran and one of the largest in the world.
That’s remarkable considering gambling is prohibited in Iran.
Yet according to the investigation, these gambling websites appeared capable of accessing Iran’s tightly controlled electronic payment system.
That payment infrastructure is overseen by the country’s central bank.
The obvious question becomes:
How does an illegal gambling empire operate at this scale inside a country where gambling itself is prohibited?
Former Iranian officials interviewed by Reuters offered a potentially explosive explanation.
They alleged that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) gradually took control of Iran’s lucrative online gambling industry and used it as a mechanism for moving money outside the country.
However, there is an important distinction.
Reuters said it could not independently establish that the IRGC directly controlled either the gambling network or Shelbit.
That remains an allegation rather than a proven conclusion.
THE INFLUENCER CONNECTION
The public face of the gambling operation reportedly looked much different from a traditional underground financial network.
It looked like social media.
Iranian musicians and influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari reportedly promoted gambling websites while displaying luxury lifestyles to millions of followers.
Supercars.
Private jets.
Yachts.
Luxury properties.
Money.
The formula should look familiar to anyone watching modern online gambling marketing.
Instead of selling gambling through traditional advertisements, influencers sell an image of what gambling supposedly makes possible.
The lifestyle becomes the advertisement.
According to Reuters, Sobhani and Mokhtari, along with Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour, were convicted in absentia in Iran in 2023 over illegal gambling activities.
Sobhani has denied involvement in money laundering, sanctions evasion or terrorism financing.
Mokhtari has denied connections to the IRGC and said he was unfamiliar with Shelbit.
THE $676 MILLION BINANCE CONNECTION
The blockchain trail didn’t stop with Shelbit.
According to analysis reviewed by Reuters, at least $676 million in cryptocurrency flowed from wallets associated with Shelbit to Binance.
Binance said Shelbit itself never maintained an account with the company.
The cryptocurrency exchange also said accounts associated with the operation were investigated, frozen and reported to law enforcement when appropriate.
Binance disputed portions of Reuters’ blockchain analysis but did not deny processing transactions connected to Shelbit-linked wallets.
This demonstrates one of the biggest challenges facing cryptocurrency enforcement.
Money doesn’t necessarily move directly from Point A to Point B.
Funds can pass through numerous wallets, exchanges and jurisdictions before reaching their ultimate destination.
Blockchain transactions can create transparency because transfers are recorded publicly.
But identifying who actually controls individual wallets can still be extremely difficult.
DUBAI REGULATORS MOVE IN
Dubai regulators eventually took action.
Reuters reported that Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) pursued enforcement action against Shelbit for operating without a license.
The regulator later ordered the exchange to cease operations, citing alleged violations involving anti-money laundering and terrorism-financing requirements.
That development highlights another major issue surrounding the global cryptocurrency economy.
Digital assets can move across borders almost instantly.
Regulation cannot.
One transaction might involve:
A gambler in Iran.
A gambling website hosted elsewhere.
A cryptocurrency wallet.
A Dubai-based exchange.
Another international cryptocurrency platform.
And potentially a sanctioned financial institution.
That makes enforcement an international problem.
WHY ILLEGAL GAMBLING WORKS AS A MONEY-MOVEMENT SYSTEM
This is where the HamptonINT analysis gets deeper.
Gambling businesses naturally process enormous transaction volumes.
Money constantly moves in.
Money constantly moves out.
Customers deposit.
Customers withdraw.
Operators move liquidity.
Payment processors settle transactions.
Crypto wallets transfer funds.
That transaction volume can create potential cover for illicit financial activity.
A suspicious $50,000 transfer might stand out in an ordinary personal account.
Inside a gambling ecosystem processing millions of dollars every day, financial movement can appear much more routine.
Add cryptocurrency and thousands of websites, and tracing the economic activity becomes considerably more complicated.
THE BIGGER STORY: GAMBLING IS FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
This case demonstrates why gambling should increasingly be viewed as more than entertainment.
Large gambling operations are financial systems.
They process deposits.
They hold customer balances.
They move money between jurisdictions.
They interact with payment processors.
They convert currencies.
And increasingly, they interact with cryptocurrency.
That infrastructure can be used legitimately.
It can also potentially be exploited for:
Money laundering
Sanctions evasion
Fraud
Tax evasion
Capital flight
Organized crime
And potentially the financing of sanctioned organizations.
That is why regulators around the world are paying closer attention to the intersection between gambling, cryptocurrency and international finance.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
The most important number in this story isn’t the number of gambling websites.
It’s the money.
More than 2,000 websites allegedly connected to the network.
At least $4 billion in cryptocurrency processed through Shelbit since May 2024.
At least $676 million reportedly flowing from Shelbit-linked wallets toward Binance.
Those numbers demonstrate the scale modern underground gambling networks can potentially reach.
The stereotype of illegal gambling is still a neighborhood bookmaker collecting cash.
The modern reality can look completely different.
Thousands of websites.
Social media influencers.
Cryptocurrency exchanges.
Blockchain wallets.
International payment systems.
Multiple jurisdictions.
And billions of dollars moving digitally across borders.
That’s not simply gambling.
That’s a financial network.
And whenever that much money is moving, HamptonINT asks the same question:
Who’s really behind the action—and where is the money going?
HamptonINT
Where the Streets Meet the Stats.
This article summarizes allegations and findings reported by Reuters and subsequent coverage. Several individuals and organizations named in the investigation have denied wrongdoing or disputed portions of the analysis. Allegations that have not been independently established are presented as allegations.
For news, entertainment and educational purposes only.
