With the arrest of Sheriff Gaming’s Chief Executive Officer and three other men towards the end of last year it looks as if it may be the end for the previously cutting edge 3d games developer. The allegations against the company and its parent company, the Bubble Group include engaging in various criminal activities, gambling illegally, money laundering and dealing in drugs. The police investigation goes back to early 2013 when as a result of the Dutch police enquiry, property and bank accounts were seized in four European countries all linked to the activities of the men arrested in the Bubble Group/ Sheriff Gaming investigation.
Sheriff Gaming is a relatively young company that has grown rapidly in recent years. It develops innovative cutting edge 3d slot machine games and 3d table games such as roulette and blackjack. Some of its 3d slot machine games can be linked into online casino networks which offer progressive jackpots. However now all of this innovation has come to a stand still and the company that at one time licensed its 3d games to online casino operators including such well known names as Microgaming, Betsson or Unibet, can no longer supply games since its parent company, the Bubble Group has lost its B2B gaming license and has now been declared bankrupt by a Dutch court.
The Bubble Group’s gaming license which was issued by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission was suspended last autumn and this was followed by the arrests of four men in November. Two of those arrested are still in custody, these are the Chief Executive Officer of Sheriff Gaming and one of the owners of the company, Michel Gregoire. The police allege that over 100 million euros were laundered by the gaming company through a complicated network of companies and through illegal online gambling sites. Several of these illegal internet gambling sites have been closed down by the authorities. The investigation is continuing and the Dutch authorities claim that they intend to soon carry out more arrests linked to the Bubble Group.
