Tim Alper iGaming Journalist
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Read Full BioA Russian youth soccer coach is set to stand trial for stealing money from a children’s soccer team and spending the funds on online casinos.
The unnamed 45-year-old man will face charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, said the Kursk Region Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, per the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Facty.
“We have completed our investigation and sent evidence to the judiciary,” the ministry told reporters. “Thirty-five people have been recognized as victims in the case.”
Officials have accused the coach of spending a total of 843,000 rubles ($11,000) collected from the parents of young players on an unnamed team.
Soccer Coach Spent Tournament Funds in Casinos
Police said the man had asked parents to hand over around 20,000 rubles (over $260) each. This money, he told the parents, would cover the costs of attending a soccer competition in another (unnamed) Russian city.
The coach said the funds would cover travel, food, and accommodation for the duration of the competition. However, police said, the trip “never took place,” and the coach soon “stopped communicating” with the parents and the team.
Some of the parents contacted the Kursk Oblast police, who eventually found the coach and began an investigation.
The investigation reportedly discovered that the man had lost most of his own money in online casinos. After his losses began to stack up, police said, he continued to gamble, eventually depositing the money he had raised from the children’s parents “in hopes of winning back the money and covering his debts.”
Online Casino Crime Rises
Online casino-related crime is on the rise in Russia. The same media outlet’s Krasnoyarsk branch reported that a court in the city has sentenced a man to 2.5 years in jail for armed robbery.
The Sovetsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk found the man, an unnamed 26-year-old, guilty of robbing a microloans provider at knifepoint in March last year.
The man, wearing a medical mask, threatened an employee and then stole 70,000 rubles (around $910) from a cash register before leaving the office.
Police arrested him soon after. He made a full confession and explained that he had spent the stolen money on losing bets at an online casino. The court heard that he “voluntarily reimbursed the microloans firm for the damages.”
Earlier this year, the Russian finance ministry unveiled a controversial plan to legalize online casinos. The ministry wants operators to pay tax at a rate of 30% of their annual revenues, minus winnings paid out.
