Sergey Karshkav, founder of the Russian sports betting platform 1xBet has died at the age of 42. The billionaire reportedly passed away due to an unsuspected allergic reaction during an MRI procedure in Switzerland.
According to his friend Pavel Muntyan, Karshkav went to Switzerland for a routine checkup, which subsequently turned fatal.
“MRI contrast fluid and subsequent MRI led first to allergies, then to coma, and then to death…” said Muntyan. In 2007, together with Dmitry Kazorin and Roman Semiokhin, Karshkov founded 1xBet, which turned out to be one of the largest bookmakers for wagering.
However, the firm was quickly branded scandalous after a criminal case accused the trio of organizing illegal gambling activities allegedly earned over 63 billion Russian rubles (over $750m) between 2014 to 2019.
The case was initiated against all partners under Part 3 of Art. 171.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The firm was accused of failing to pay out bettors' winnings, allowing child gambling, and other unlawful activities.
Although the firm was banned in the country due to not holding the correct license to operate, the three suspected criminals fled overseas to Cyprus and were not officially charged with any illegal activity, however, the company and its affiliated entities were fined and sued several times.
Looking for your next crypto casino? Check out: Bitcasino or FortuneJack.