In recent months, a lot of media channels exploded with “breaking news” that BC.Game, a very large online casino, as classified by Casino Guru, went bankrupt. However, we at Gamblescope chose not to go with the hype, sit back and take a closer look at the unravelling events. And only now present our analysis of the situation.
Did BC.Game Really Go Bankrupt?
The BC.Game platform itself continues to function, at least as of November 28 2024. However, both parent companies of BC.Game — its current operator, Small House B.V., and its previous operator, Blockdance B.V. — were declared bankrupt.
According to IGB, BC.Game has acknowledged being in a legal dispute in Curaçao with several players. But as of November 28 2024 denies bankruptcy of the platform, assures that it has no issues with liquidity and fulfilling its sponsorship obligations to the Leicester City Football Club, as well as to the Cloud9 and GuardiaN esports teams.
The Road to Bankruptcy — First Issues
The problems of the casino and its parental companies haven’t started all of a sudden at the end of 2024. Launched in 2017, operating as a Curacao-licenced offshore cryptocurrency casino, and accepting players from around the world bar a couple of countries, by 2022 BC.Game became large enough to be noticed by regulatory institutions across the world.
In October 2022, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) issued a formal warning to Blockdance B.V. for “providing unlicenced interactive gambling services to Australian customers”. However, no further fines or enforcement actions followed.
Starting in 2023, there has been a steady increase in complaints on various watchdog and review platforms like ours, including Complaints Board, Casino Guru or Casinomeister regarding BC.Game not paying out the winnings or engaging in other types of rogue behaviour. The casino resorted to largely ignoring the complaints, mostly answering only on Trustpilot.
Getting to The Main Case
We can’t tell how many complaints were real and not a part of some “review war” between rivalling casinos, how many were not expressed openly due to players accepting the losses and not escalating the issue, and how many were settled quietly. But from our experience and expertise, their financial volume could have been substantial enough.
Why? On April 30 2024, Blockdance B.V. transferred control of the BC.Game platform to Small House B.V. Such transfers can be done for various business reasons. However, Small House B.V. took over the BC.Game website and software, but refused to assume the obligations of Blockdance B.V., showing that this move was made to shake off the financial liabilities to players.
This hasty decision didn’t work. Two players escalated their cases to the court with the help of the Foundation For Representation Of Victims Of Online Gaming (Stichting Belangenbehartiging Gedupeerden Online Kansspelen, SBGOK). They filed bankruptcy petitions against both Blockdance and Small House.
According to the Curacao Chronicle, one of the players claimed $1.482.162 (€1.394.585), and the other — $680.000 (€639.820) lost due to Small House B.V. taking over Blockdance B.V. without assuming its outstanding obligations. There was also an additional claim of $10 948 (€10 301) against Blockdance that the company insisted had been resolved, but the player denied this.
The Court
The Court of First Instance in Curaçao rejected the first bankruptcy petitions on October 4, 2024. However, after an appeal by SBGOK, on October 31 the Court of Appeal ruled that both companies had failed to meet their financial obligations, and thus were declared bankrupt.
If we go more into the details, regarding Blockdance B.V. the Court noted that Blockdance had ceased operations without settling its financial liabilities, including an unpaid €5 million fine (denied by Blockdance) from Spanish authorities.
And regarding Small House, it was ruled (thanks to SBGOK’s evidence) that the players' funds were lost between April 30 and August 10 in 2024, well within the boundaries when Small House already took over as BC.Game operator. Additionally, the Court decided that Small House was in breach of the Curacao gambling licence requirements because it was operating without a local Curacao or a reputable enough foreign bank account.
The Consequences
Possible Licence Loss
The Curacao Court’s decision might have some pretty far-reaching consequences. The first one is the loss of licence. According to Bonus.com, the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB) may revoke BC.Game’s licence, since the outcome of the trial raises the question of whether the crypto casino platform remains compliant with the licence regulations. On November 29 BC.Game might lose its licence, if it fails to convince the GCB of its compliance with the rules.
Problems With Leicester City Title Sponsor
The second consequence will be felt even by those far from the gambling world, but interested in English football. In July 2024, BC.Game entered into a two-year partnership with Leicester City Football Club from the English Premier League. This agreement includes BC.Game's branding featured on the front of the team's shirts starting from the 2024/25 season.
The deal is reportedly valued at approximately $38-40 million (around £30-31 million) with half of the amount already paid, making it one of the most significant sponsorships in the club's history.
As for now, The Foxes refused to terminate the contract with BC.Game and seek a new sponsor even if the platform’s bankruptcy counts as an exceptional event that would allow them to act this way. Leicester City risks being left without a title sponsor on the front of their shirts for the next season.
Possible Sponsorship Loss by Two eSports Teams
The third consequence lies in the world of eSports. Since August 2022 BC.Game has a partnership deal with Cloud9, a prominent esports organisation. This collaboration mainly supports Cloud9's Counter-Strike and Dota 2 teams.
In June 2024 added another Counter-Strike team to their sponsorship list — named after the platform itself “BC.Game”. It also added the renowned Slovakian player Ladislav 'GuardiaN' Kovács to the roster as a coach and an AWP player.
In our opinion, whether events take a bad turn, Cloud9 will easily find another sponsor due to being quite a large and famous eSports organisation with many titles. As for the BC.Game eSports team, it might be up for disbandment.
Conclusion
Despite our thorough investigation of the issue, many processes regarding the bankruptcy of BC.Game are still ongoing. And it will take time for the dust to settle so we can see the full consequences. Until then, we suggest avoiding playing at BC.Game casino.
While the platform remains functional, the potential loss of its licence, coupled with numerous complaints about unpaid winnings, suggests that players should seek safer alternatives.