{"id":271519,"date":"2023-05-02T15:30:28","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T20:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=271519"},"modified":"2023-05-02T19:03:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T00:03:45","slug":"ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Crypto Platform Fraudulently Directed Client Funds to Online Casinos"},"content":{"rendered":"

EzBtc, formerly a Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform, allegedly diverted almost $9.6 million (CAD $13 million) in client funds to a pair of internet crypto casinos without their consent.<\/p>\n

\"EzBtc\"
Logos for an EzBtc Bitcoin ATM. The now-defunct crypto trading platform allegedly directed client funds to online casinos. (Image: DesignCrowd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The allegations were revealed Tuesday by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission<\/a> (SEC, in that Western Canadian province. From 2016 through 2019, EzBtc clients deposited more than 2,300 Bitcoin and over 600 Ether on the platform. Those are the two largest digital currencies by market value.<\/p>\n

“EzBtc transferred incoming Bitcoin and Ether to two online crypto gambling sites without customer authorization. Although the value of the assets fluctuated greatly, as of July 1, 2019, the value of the fraudulently transferred assets was about $13 million,\u201d according to a statement issued by BCSC.<\/p>\n

The regulatory agency didn\u2019t identify the crypto casinos in question. Crypto casinos have boomed in popularity in recent years<\/a>, providing an avenue for increased adoption and use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.<\/p>\n

While some of these gaming outlets may be considered safe, many are licensed outside of Europe and North America and aren\u2019t regulated to the extent of comparable offerings from the likes of BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings. Internet casino and online sportsbook operators doing business in the US aren’t allowed to accept crypto as payment.<\/p>\n

EzBtc Allegedly Lied to Customers<\/h2>\n

EzBtc told clients that 99% of their crypto assets on the platform were held in cold storage. That\u2019s a crypto industry term for holding the asset offline, intended to enhance security.<\/p>\n

The broker, which is no longer in business, also showed users profit, loss, and holdings and position values online, but that was allegedly a rouse, according to BCSC.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe platform did not use cold storage, didn’t retain custody of customers’ assets, and most of the holdings that were displayed didn’t exist. From 2016 to 2019, the platform’s daily balance didn’t exceed 11 Bitcoin and 20 Ether,\u201d added the regulator. \u201cAs a result, many customers weren’t able to withdraw the crypto assets they believed were held on the platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, 11 Bitcoin would be worth approximately $330K while 20 Ether would be valued at close to $40K, not nearly enough for a legitimate broker to adequately service investors.<\/p>\n

Futures Contracts Could Incriminate EzBtc<\/h2>\n

Around the world, including in the US, regulators have struggled with classifying digital currencies. In the EzBtc case, that scenario isn\u2019t at play because the assets in question are futures contracts<\/a>, which are regulated under Canada\u2019s Securities Act. Thus, EzBtc could be held liable for committing securities fraud.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the underlying asset, a futures contract is a legally binding agreement between a buyer and seller under which the buyer will purchase the asset at a predetermined price at a specific date in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe BCSC’s allegations have not been proven. The Commission requires the parties involved to appear at the BCSC’s offices on June 27, 2023, if they wish to be heard before a hearing is scheduled,\u201d concluded the commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EzBtc, formerly a Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform, allegedly diverted almost $9.6 million (CAD $13 million) in client funds to a pair of internet crypto casinos without their consent. The allegations were revealed Tuesday by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, in that Western Canadian province. From 2016 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":271520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81887,21,24066,19],"tags":[82597,86118,81892,81931],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEzBtc Allegedly Used Client Cash For Online Casinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"EzBtc allegedly directed client funds to internet crypto casinos.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EzBtc Allegedly Used Client Cash For Online Casinos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EzBtc allegedly directed client funds to internet crypto casinos.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-02T20:30:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-03T00:03:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1316\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1481\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/\",\"name\":\"EzBtc Allegedly Used Client Cash For Online Casinos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-02T20:30:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-03T00:03:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"EzBtc allegedly directed client funds to internet crypto casinos.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png\",\"width\":1316,\"height\":1481,\"caption\":\"Logos for a EzBtc bitcoin ATM. The now defunct crypto allegedly directed client funds to online casinos. (Image: DesignCrowd)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Crime & Scandals\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/scandals\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Canadian Crypto Platform Fraudulently Directed Client Funds to Online Casinos\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"EzBtc Allegedly Used Client Cash For Online Casinos","description":"EzBtc allegedly directed client funds to internet crypto casinos.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"EzBtc Allegedly Used Client Cash For Online Casinos","og_description":"EzBtc allegedly directed client funds to internet crypto casinos.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2023-05-02T20:30:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-03T00:03:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1316,"height":1481,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/","name":"EzBtc Allegedly Used Client Cash For Online Casinos","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png","datePublished":"2023-05-02T20:30:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-03T00:03:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"EzBtc allegedly directed client funds to internet crypto casinos.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ez.png","width":1316,"height":1481,"caption":"Logos for a EzBtc bitcoin ATM. The now defunct crypto allegedly directed client funds to online casinos. (Image: DesignCrowd)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ezbtc-allegedly-used-client-cash-for-online-casinos\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Crime & Scandals","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/scandals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Canadian Crypto Platform Fraudulently Directed Client Funds to Online Casinos"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}