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About Zeus
According to the German Press Agency, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office, together with the Frankfurt tax investigation unit, the State Office for the Combat of Financial Crime in North Rhine-Westphalia and Frankfurt police, executed coordinated searches across 11 premises on Tuesday.
Over 100 officers participated in the operation. Authorities seized several high-value vehicles, froze numerous bank accounts and imposed an asset restraint order valued at around €82 million. An arrest warrant was also executed.
Prosecutors allege that five suspects had operated internet-based gambling services without the required German licences from at least July 2021. The volume of bets placed on these platforms reportedly exceeded €5.8 billion between mid-2021 and the end of 2023.
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Here are some of the dossier’s key findings, some of which raise questions around Evolution’s compliance operations during the period assessed.
Within the initial pages of its lengthy August 2021 report, Spectrum Gaming explains it carried out an extensive technical, operational and compliance review of Evolution’s “business practices, public record database research and an assessment of the company’s anti-money laundering compliance procedures and processes, as they related to the allegations contained in the ‘anonymous report'”.
Tests carried out using a VPN to access banned markets found Evolution’s games had been available to players in the prohibited jurisdictions of UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.
About Zeus
White Hat Gaming paused the ads during the investigation and argued that HLTV’s audience is primarily adult and focused on professional competitive gaming rather than casual play, which tends to attract minors.
HLTV corroborated this, highlighting its editorial tone as adult-oriented.
The ASA reviewed whether the ads were directed at under-18s through their placement or content. Its rules prohibit advertising through media where more than 25% of the audience is likely to be under 18.
