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A builder who used company money and the sale of hired machinery to bankroll a gambling habit has been ordered to repay £190,577 ($254,558) following an investigation by the UK’s Insolvency Service.
According to a press release, Vasile Hrusca, director of Vasile Hrusca Ltd, took more than £67,000 ($89,500) from his company in 2019 to settle the outstanding balance on a hire purchase agreement for an Audi RS6 costing just under £75,000 ($100,185).
Investigators said that in addition to the car payment he sold seven diggers and other plant machinery worth nearly £85,000 ($114,000) despite them still being under hire purchase agreements with two banks. The case details suggest that the proceeds were spent on gambling rather than on the struggling company.

Builder who stole plant machinery and used company money to pay for Audi ordered to repay more than £190,000 Director sentenced for theft and fraudulently removing company property must repay fundshttps://t.co/0QBEwU9a1P
— Press Releases (@press_newswire) December 3, 2025

The Insolvency Service found that the company was already failing when Hrusca began diverting funds for personal use. The loss of machinery left creditors unable to recover their assets, while the company’s financial position continued to deteriorate. Officials said the director’s actions created a significant shortfall for lenders and other victims.
Builder ordered to repay money used for gambling
A confiscation order was issued at Snaresbrook Crown Court on November 25. Hrusca has three months to repay the money or he could face up to two and a half years in prison. Even if he is jailed, the debt will remain until fully settled. Confiscation orders are used to recover the proceeds of criminal conduct and prevent offenders from benefiting from their actions.
Earlier this year Hrusca received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years, a four-year ban from serving as a company director, 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity. The latest order adds further financial consequences on top of the criminal sanctions already imposed.
Alexander Grierson, Head of Asset Recovery at the Insolvency Service, said: “Vasile Hrusca stripped assets from his failing company to benefit himself, leaving creditors and victims significantly out of pocket.
“Asset recovery is a vital tool in holding fraudulent directors to account […] This confiscation order sends a clear message that directors who misuse company assets for personal gain will be pursued for the proceeds of their crimes.”
Featured image: Cassianto via WikiCommons / CC BY-SA 4.0
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The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) Executive Director Jeff Duncan has publicly disagreed with a recent Florida bill clamping down on sweepstakes.
The Florida bill, titled HB 591, is an 86-page document that details the legal steps being prepared to criminalize online gambling and reinforce the Seminole Tribe’s exclusive rights on gaming across the state. It has faced immediate pushback from the sweepstakes casino industry, not least from the SGLA director.
“We strongly disagree with the categorization that Social Plus games that utilize sweepstakes promotions have anything in common with illegal offshore gambling operations,” Duncan said in a press release seen by ReadWrite. “HB 591 laudably seeks to stop illegal gambling from taking place in the state of Florida, but fails to account for how lawful promotional sweepstakes operate in Florida.
“SGLA partner companies operate fully within Florida’s sweepstakes, consumer protection, banking and financial transactions laws, and are committed to further regulations to ensure that Social Plus games remain a safe outlet for the millions of Florida adults age 21 and over seeking casual entertainment.
“We look forward to continuing our constructive relationship with Florida’s legislators and remain committed to ensuring consumers have access to legal, and compliant entertainment in the Sunshine State.”
The details of the Florida bill
HB 591 was filed on December 2 by Representative Jacques and would take effect on October 1, 2026. It defines “internet gambling” as any game “in which money or other thing of value is awarded based on chance, regardless of any application of skill, that is available on the Internet and accessible on a mobile device, computer terminal, or other similar access device and simulates casino-style gaming, including, but not limited to, slot machines, video poker, and table games.”
The bill seeks to make operating, conducting, or promoting online gambling under those definitions a third-degree felony. It also explicitly exempts gaming activities conducted under the Seminole Tribe’s compact with the state, affirming the exclusive tribal gambling rights.
The legislation also prohibits gambling advertisements, blocks local governments within Florida from regulating gambling activities, and creates new penalties for trafficking in slot machines. That includes a first-degree felony with a fine of up to $500,000.
Featured image: Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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A total of 12 offshore gambling operators have received cease-and-desist letters from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) following investigations carried out by the regulator.
The MGCB states in an update that these operators were “unlawfully offering online gaming and sports betting to Michigan residents” and say investigations “determined they were offering illegal online casino-style games or sports betting in violation of state law.”
The letters were sent to 31 Bets Casino, Betnuvo, BetPhoenix,Booty.bet, Jackpotter, Kings Chance Casino, Mybitcoin Casino, Starbets, The Virtual Casino, This Is Vegas, Vegas Strip Casino, and xWin90. The gaming control board regulates online and land-based gambling in the Wolverine State and provides licenses to operators.
“Illegal online gambling sites operate without oversight, putting players at risk and undermining Michigan’s secure, regulated marketplace,” said MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams.
“We will continue to take relentless, decisive action to prevent unlicensed operators from targeting Michigan residents and ensure that all gaming is conducted lawfully and responsibly.”
Michigan regulator warns state residents about unauthorized gambling operators
Within the announcement about the cease-and-desist letters, the MGCB has warned that any unauthorized operators “pose significant risks to consumers, including a lack of player protections, no guarantee of fair games, and no recourse for disputes or withheld winnings.”
The authority board has all of the licensed and approved platforms listed out on its agency website and explains how all companies must be licensed by the MGCB to be able to offer internet gaming or sports wagering in Michigan.
They also state that any entities that ignore cease-and-desist directives could face additional enforcement measures. It was only early last month, on November 12, when it announced it had issued similar letters to three online casinos who they say were operating illegally in Michigan. These were sent to Cryptowins Casino, Slotland Casino, and Winaday Casino.

Featured image: Michigan Gaming Control Board

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Connecticut Consumer Protection has issued cease-and-desist orders to three prediction markets for allegedly offering unlicensed online gambling.
The Department of Consumer Protection Gaming Division send letters with cease-and-desist notices to three platforms conducting unlicensed online gambling, specifically sports wagering: Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com. The department alleges that each of the platforms is offering sports betting through its services without the appropriate license, putting them in breach of the law.

Today, DCP’s Gaming Division issued Cease and Desist orders to three platforms conducting unlicensed sports wagering.
Learn why Prediction Market Platforms offering “Sports Events” Contracts are illegal:https://t.co/LXLK1tRR0w
— Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (@CTDCP) December 3, 2025

“Only licensed entities may offer sports wagering in the state of Connecticut,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli in a statement on December 3. “None of these entities possesses a license to offer wagering in our state, and even if they did, their contracts violate numerous other state laws and policies, including offering wagers to individuals under the age of 21.”
Licenses are required in Connecticut in order to allow for the necessary consumer protections and regulations. The department warned that the lack of licensing leaves users’ financial and personal information vulnerable and that, as the wagers are not regulated, promised winnings are not guaranteed.
“These platforms are deceptively advertising that their services are legal, but our laws are clear,” said DCP Gaming Director Kris Gilman. “They are also operating outside of a regulatory environment, posing a serious risk to consumers who may not realize wagers placed on these illegal platforms offer no protections for their money or information. A prediction market wager is not an investment.”
Prediction market or unlicensed online gambling?
Connecticut is not the first state to be asking these questions about prediction markets in general and even these platforms in particular, with Kalshi already embroiled in legal cases in Ohio and Nevada on similar grounds, Robinhood forced to pause operations in Nevada, and Crypto.com facing similar obstacles in Nevada.
In Connecticut, all three platforms have been ordered to immediately stop all advertising, offering, promoting, or otherwise operating ‘sports event contracts’ or any other form of unlicensed online gambling to state residents. All three have also been told to allow Connecticut residents to withdraw any funds currently held by the platforms.
If any of the three companies fail to comply, this could lead to civil penalties. ReadWrite has reached out to Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Robinhood for further comment.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0
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Betfred have been hit with an £825,000 ($1.1 million) fine by the Gambling Commission due to money laundering and social responsibility failures.
The operator, owned by Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited, will also receive a warning and will have to undergo a third-party audit, ensuring the company is effectively implementing policies and procedures regarding money laundering and safer gambling.

Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited will pay £825,000 after a Commission investigation revealed social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
To read more, visit our website https://t.co/AogXetZUya pic.twitter.com/qZnF52Jk5G
— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) December 3, 2025

The Gambling Commission criticized Betfred for being “unable to effectively identify and manage money laundering risks” which were related to their gaming machines.
Furthermore, Betfred also failed to “identify spend and associated financial indicators of gambling harm for customers using B3 gaming machines.”
The Gambling Commission’s Director of Enforcement said: “While the failings identified during the 2024 compliance assessment were predominantly technical breaches rather than arising from specific customer examples, they were nevertheless unacceptable, particularly with thresholds appearing too high and insufficiently risk based when assessed in practice, and deficiencies in some processes and procedures adopted by the licensee.
“We fully acknowledge the improvements the operator has already made since these issues were identified, and the independent audit will be key to confirming these changes are sustained so that the operator continues to be fully compliant with social responsibility and anti-money laundering requirements.”
Betfred’s high street shops could remain open
Before Rachel Reeves announced the budget, Betfred’s co-founder said that a tax hike could mean all of the company’s shops would disappear.
The General betting duty will rise from 15% to 25% from April 2027 on all wagers placed online. Reeves did not increase the tax on bets that will be placed in betting shops around the country, however.
Online gambling appears to be the key target for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and this news suggests that Betfred might not have to close any physical locations in the near future.

Featured Image: Credit to Edwardx on Wikimedia Commons, CC4.0

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