Inside Dragon Money: how an illegal casino deletes evidence, dodges bans and keeps players’ money

Dragon Money Casino mainly targets players from the post-Soviet region, though users from other countries can also access it. However, reliable information about the platform is hard to find, as most top search results are filled with promotional content.

There’s no need to recount what the advertisements claim – ads are meant to praise the advantages and gloss over the shortcomings. The information about Dragon Money Casino that was painstakingly dug up can be conditionally divided into two parts: official data (documents, licenses, bans, etc.) and player reviews.

Let’s start with the reviews. Let’s make it clear right away – reviews are subjective, and they should be approached with a certain degree of skepticism, neither fully trusting overly positive ones nor outright negative ones. Moreover, judging by the style of the reviews, the positive feedback about Dragon Money Casino seems to come from obvious bots: the texts are similar in style and content. Negative reviews provide a bit more insight into the fact that not everything is right with Dragon Money’s operations, although, to the casino’s credit, they do respond to these reviews and attempt to reply. However, it seems that the interaction ends there: the issues remain unresolved.

In the screenshot above – a player’s complaint about having their winnings of 1,200,000 rubles stolen. The casino provided a response, but it boils down to a standard «we’ll look into it», even though the player described the issue in detail, with all the specifics. The full text of the complaint and the casino’s response can be found here, and they are still accessible. However, the fact that this case is not isolated is confirmed by other reviews on the same site.

By the way, this is a Ukrainian review site, even though access to the casino is officially blocked in Ukraine. However, this doesn’t stop anyone – there are plenty of mirror sites that allow bypassing any restrictions. The fact that there are at least some issues with Dragon Money is also confirmed by another review from a different site. This time, it’s not players but partners who are complaining about being «scammed» – these are people who work with the casino on an affiliate basis and bring in players, who are the very source of the casino’s existence.

Let’s reiterate – the number of negative reviews is not very high – somewhere around 30%, which is not a lot for an online casino. However, it’s not negligible either, which raises questions about whether it’s worth trusting Dragon Money with your money. Especially considering that it operates illegally in the territory of the former USSR (as well as in Europe). In Russia, Dragon Money has even been included in the Central Bank’s list as a pyramid scheme, as directly stated on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Here, it also becomes clear why finding information about the casino is so difficult – the Central Bank lists Dragon Money’s addresses, which clutter up search engine results:

Against the backdrop of negative reviews, this is no longer just a warning sign; it’s a clear indication that dealing with Dragon Money is not advisable. But that’s not all. According to the main website of Dragon Money Casino, it is registered in the jurisdiction of Curaçao and operates under its license. The owner of the casino is Dragon Money NV.

However, it is known that Dragon Money Casino was registered in 2012 in Costa Rica and operated under its license at least until 2021. At that time, the owner was a company called International Business Systems S.R.L., and the website had the address drgn.win (now inactive).

What happened to the Dragon Money Casino owned by International Business Systems S.R.L. from Costa Rica? And why did a casino with the same name and logo, and almost the same address, suddenly appear in Curaçao after the first one disappeared? Additionally, another nuance should be considered in this context – an advertisement disguised as a legal analysis about the Costa Rican Dragon Money was written by a certain Yury Mosha, the owner of the American agency «Second Passport», who received a 10-month prison sentence in the US last year for fraudulent activities. Mosha’s fraud is not related to Dragon Money, but a recommendation from a convicted fraudster to play at this casino seems highly questionable.

In summary, we have the following: negative reviews from players and partners of Dragon Money; a direct ban on its operations in Ukraine and Russia; in Russia, Dragon Money is listed in the registry of organizations with signs of a pyramid scheme; the unclear history of ownership and jurisdiction changes only reinforces the Central Bank of Russia’s conclusion about it being a «pyramid»; a laudatory article about the casino from a Russian fraudster who was sentenced in the US. Additionally, it should be noted that in the vast majority of cases, to play at Dragon Money Casino, one would have to use «mirror sites». However, this poses no real problem:

Regarding bans and the lack of a license: as reported by several publications, Dragon Money has an office in Kiev, from where technical support is provided. The organizer of this office, which employs over 50 people, is said to be Aleksandr Myrnyi, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament.

So, it doesn’t really matter where the casino is registered: in Curaçao or Costa Rica. Or in the UK, where a company named Dragon Money was also registered before 2012. It’s completely irrelevant – the central office of this outfit is located in the center of Kiev. And this entire pyramid is managed from there, without any legal status in this city or country. Do you want to gamble with an illegal operation? Well, the choice – to play or not to play at Dragon Money – is entirely yours. Just don’t complain later. You’ve been warned.