Gambling sites with ‘fake’ licences are targeting Irish users — and influencers are helping promote them

Offshore operators and social media influencers are driving the rise of unregulated gambling platforms among Irish users

Gambling sites using Anjouan licences are targeting Irish users, with influencers promoting unregulated platforms despite regulatory warnings. File picture

If you asked the average person to point out the small autonomous island of Anjouan on a map, or better still, if you posed the question to the Irish influencers advertising the fruits of its fictitious gaming licenses, you would likely be left disappointed, or perhaps slightly amused, by their efforts.

Its true location lies between Madagascar and the south-east coast of mainland Africa, where it comprises one of three major islands of the Union of Comoros, a former French colony that gained independence in 1975. Comoros is Africa’s third-smallest country, just slightly larger than its distant neighbour, the Seychelles.

While largely unheard of, political instability and rogue regulatory bodies have led to an influx of unlicensed sports betting and online gambling websites in Ireland. In 1997, Anjouan itself claimed independence from its neighbouring islands in the Comoros following a period of political turmoil. Shortly after, Anjouan’s separatist government established its own financial regulator, the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority (AOFA).

However, attempts to legitimise the new regulatory body were marred by a series of scandals, including allegations of money laundering and attracting criminals, with the World Bank later declaring that the creation of offshore banks in Anjouan was illegal.

The city of Moutsamudu on the Island of Anjouan on the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean in Africa.

In 2002, Anjouan rejoined the Comoros, with subsequent banking laws officially stripping AOFA of its regulatory status. But to this day, AOFA maintains a register of dozens of financial companies, including banks, insurance firms, and notably, gambling sites.

On its website, the AOFA calls itself “renowned for its favourable regulatory environment.” In 2022, the Central Bank of the Comoros issued a stark warning against the AOFA, labelling it a “fictitious” structure that issues licenses and provides banking and financial services illegally through websites and online platforms.

Despite these warnings, many gambling websites continue to boast their Anjouan-issued licenses as a badge of legitimacy, including those increasingly targeting Irish consumers.

In addition to being illegal, unlicensed betting companies often carry terms and conditions that no legitimate regulator would approve, with the chances of losing money also considerably higher.

Online casino and sports betting provider Gambana.com is owned and operated by JJAM Holdings Ltd, a Central American company registered in Belize. Still, the website itself has been licensed by the AOFA since November 2025. Importantly, Gambana does not have a licence to operate in Ireland.

But its illegal operation in Ireland has failed to dissuade several major influencers prevalent among online sports circles from promoting the company.

One such influencer is 26-year-old Jonathan Finlay, known better by his online persona, Nasti_2k. The Dublin-based social media personality has amassed over 670,000 followers on TikTok and a further 275,000 followers on Instagram. He also operates a channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, which is dedicated to gambling.

Known for brandishing a lavish lifestyle on his social media, including first-class flights and Premier League matches, Mr Finlay promoted the Anjouan-licensed Gambana several times across his platforms, with solicitors for the influencer confirming to the Irish Examiner last month that Mr Finlay had a commercial partnership with the betting website.

“Our client discloses his affiliate relationship with Gambana to his audience,” Mr Finlay’s solicitors, Lavelle Partners, said.

“Our client makes it clear that he is not a professional gambler or financial advisor, to ensure his audience is not misled about the nature of his content or expertise,” they added.

Last year, Mr Finlay was the subject of an investigation by the Central Bank of Ireland after he promoted an unauthorised financial trading platform, T4Trade.

Registered in the Seychelles, T4Trade said it was not targeted at residents of the EU, as it did not have the necessary license to operate in the jurisdiction.

Irish influencer Jonathan Morley went even further in his promotion of Gambana. His account on X (previously Twitter) carried a Gambana affiliation badge, which indicated to his more than 26,000 followers that he was connected to the organisation.

An avid Liverpool fan, Mr Morley has amassed an additional 55,000 followers on Instagram and more than 630,000 followers on TikTok.

However, speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Morley said he was only recently made aware that Gambana was operating in Ireland without a license after reading an article about another content creator who also promoted the company.

Influencer Jonathan Finlay advertising unlicensed gambling company Gambana, without disclosing his affiliate relationship

“Since then, I have stopped promoting the company and reached out to close the partnership as soon as possible,” Mr Morley said.

Mr Morley also had the Gambana affiliate badge removed from his X account.

However, social media personality and professional tipster Rob Henegan did not comment when approached by the Irish Examiner regarding his promotion of Gambana.

Operating online under his company’s name, Pro Sports Advice (PSA), Mr Henegan boasts more than 1m followers across his various social media platforms and, like Mr Finlay, enjoys showcasing a luxurious lifestyle online of private jets, lavish holidays and celebrity hangouts.

PSA also runs a popular channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, which has amassed more than 90,000 subscribers. In this, the company has promoted Gambana several times, advertising it as having the best odds compared to other licensed betting companies such as Bet365.

On January 18, the PSA Inner Circle Telegram channel wrote: “Best odds on Gambana.

“Odds of difference of 2/6 (1.67) and 23/20 (2.15) between Bet365 and Gambana.” PSA markets itself as the world’s largest and most trusted tipping community, claiming over 15,000 monthly paying members. The company offers top-tier membership at €149 a month, with the cheaper, standard rate costing €19.

In January, PSA filed its 2024 financial statement with the Company Registration Office, but the documents were returned to the company. The updated financial statements are yet to be submitted.

In the returned document, PSA reported a profit of €718,000 for the 2024 financial year, with accumulated profits coming in at just under €2m.

The returned accounts also showed the addition of a freehold property worth over €1m. Land registry records show that PSA purchased a five-bedroom beach house at Silver Beach in Gormanstown, Co. Meath, which had an initial asking price of €885,000. The Land Registry shows that Pro Sports Advice Limited took ownership of the property in May 2024.

Online gambling site Rainbet says it is recognised among “the best crypto casino options.” It is a brand name of RBGaming N.V., with an address at Hamchako, Mustamudu, Autonomous Island of Anjouan, Union of Comoros.

On the website, customers can bet on Ireland’s UEFA World Cup qualifying matches, Irish U18 friendly games, and U21 European Championship qualifiers.

Rainbet does not have a license to operate in Ireland, and even if it tried, it would likely struggle to obtain one.

Deep in its terms and conditions, Rainbet bans all VPNs that hide a customer’s true location, allows customers just 72 hours to challenge a bet and caps winning from welcome bonuses or affiliate codes at $50, regardless of how much is wagered.

In addition, Rainbet says that if it is found to be liable, it shall not pay out more than $500, regardless of how much a customer has lost.

In recent years, the Rainbet logo has been plastered in social media videos and advertisements targeting Irish customers, particularly across online sports circles.

“It’s no surprise that these guys are targeting these kinds of online communities,” says Dublin blogger and writer Paddy Keogh.

“It’s filled with young men, many under 25, who are deeply invested in football and prone to impulsive behaviour.” In 2023, Mr Keogh founded AttackingFootball.com, a sports media website that he frequently contributes to along with a team of other global writers.

In September last year, Mr Keogh wrote online about the rise of Rainbet advertisements appearing in online sports circles, warning readers to avoid the site and highlighting its lack of regulatory oversight.

One day later, his website was the target of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal operation of a website by overwhelming it with a flood of artificial internet traffic. This can cause the website’s server to become overwhelmed, resulting in a denial-of-service to genuine traffic.

“We had traffic coming in from random countries,” Mr Keogh told the Irish Examiner.

“All of a sudden, it was traffic from Zimbabwe, Yemen, and other places where nobody would read the website.” Mr Keogh reached out to Rainbet once the DDoS attack began, repeatedly asking if the gambling site was involved. He never received a reply.

“The website has since been unlisted from Google as a result of the attack, which has impacted it massively,” Mr Keogh added.

“This all happened in September, but even now, I am still forced to block traffic from certain countries. I’m still dealing with bots to this day.”

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), which is taking over the role of issuing gambling licences from the Revenue Commissioners, confirmed that operating in Ireland without a betting licence, either issued by Revenue, or by GRAI, is unlawful.

“Illegal gambling is associated with a number of risks,” the GRAI warned.

“You risk your personal data and your financial information being compromised, and all of the protections that apply when you gamble in a regulated market are taken away.” The GRAI added that providing a betting activity without a licence was “a serious offence” and can attract up to eight years’ imprisonment on conviction.'

“The seriousness of that offence reflects the dangers associated with the black market.” Rainbet and Gambana did not respond when contacted by the Irish Examiner.