FinTelegram has received an extensive email chain from a UK player and other victims alleging that the Estonian Niko Technologies OÜ (brand: Niko-Tech / Elegro) is prolifically facilitating payments for unlicensed online casinos, including Curacao-licensed operators targeting self-excluded UK players. The correspondence paints a picture of transaction masking, misleading merchant descriptors and stonewalling of refund requests.
From “technical provider” to alleged transaction launderer
Victims report bank statements showing descriptors such as “Nikotpf” and Active Web Ltd / Realmtix, while the actual spending took place at unlicensed casinos such as Goldenbet. According to the emails, these transactions were miscoded under non-gambling MCCs to bypass bank gambling blocks and the UK GamStop self-exclusion regime.
Niko’s support repeatedly replies that it is only a technical gateway, does not hold client funds and that players must contact their bank or the “merchant” – despite the processor’s own brand appearing as the payment descriptor.
Corporate footprint vs. compliance marketing
Corporate records show Niko Technologies OÜ, reg. 14511282 in Estonia, with Ukrainian national Yurii Lamdan as 100% shareholder and board member. The company reports multi-million euro financial services turnover in recent years (Source: Inforegister).
In parallel, Niko advertises itself as a FINTRAC-registered Money Service Business in Canada, offering FX, money transfer and virtual currency services, emphasising PCI DSS Level 1 and “Compliance & Transparency in Modern Payments.” This public marketing stands in sharp contrast to the victim reports and forum discussions around its role in high-risk gambling flows.
Public complaints and UK regulatory angle
On Trustpilot, Niko Technologies currently shows a 100% one-star profile, with multiple reviews explicitly accusing the company of processing payments for illegal casinos, using masked MCCs and being “the same as Elegro” (Source: Trustpilot).
CasinoGuru forum threads link Active Web Ltd / Realmtix.com as the merchant of record for Goldenbet deposits, again in the context of Curacao-licensed casinos using incorrect merchant category codes to slip through banking controls (Source: Casino Guru).
Separately, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning naming Elegro / Niko Technologies as an unauthorised firm targeting UK consumers (Source: FCA).
Taken together, these strands suggest a recurring pattern: Niko-linked brands sitting in the payment chain of non-UK-licensed casinos aggressively advertising to UK players, including those deliberately seeking “Non-GamStop” casinos.
Compliance assessment – open questions
From an AML and card-scheme perspective, the key red flags are:
- Transaction laundering / MCC masking via front merchants such as Active Web / Realmtix instead of transparently coding gambling transactions.
- Facilitation of unlicensed remote gambling into the UK, where operators must hold a UKGC licence and payment intermediaries are expected to conduct jurisdictional checks.
- FINTRAC and Estonian AML duties: a regulated MSB and financial-services company cannot simply hide behind “we are only technical” when confronted with detailed evidence of repeated, similar complaints.
At the time of writing, Niko’s responses in the email chain focus on disclaiming responsibility; they do not address the core allegations of transaction masking, merchant vetting or SAR/STR filing.
FinTelegram will continue to monitor Niko Technologies, related brands (Elegro, Realmtix/Active Web) and their casino clients as part of our Crypto Payment Processor Watch series, alongside earlier reports on PayOp, Swapped and other high-risk processors.
Key Summary Table
| Type | Brand / Name | Domains / References | Legal Entity / Position | Jurisdiction(s) | Key Individuals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payment provider / FinTech | Niko Technologies / Niko-Tech / “Nikotpf” descriptor | niko-technologies.eu, niko-tech.eu; Niko Payments app; AML policy & “Regulation” pages | Niko Technologies OÜ, reg. 14511282 (Estonia), licensed virtual currency / financial services provider; MSB registered with FINTRAC (Canada) | Estonia (incorporation & FIU FVT000416); Canada (FINTRAC MSB); UK branch registered at Companies House | Yurii Lamdan – founder, board member, 100% shareholder / beneficial owner, MLRO (per AML rules) |
| Payment / crypto brand in same group | Elegro | elegro.eu; Elegro crypto payment plugin; Elegro wallet apps (Source: WordPress.com) | Not a separate UK-authorised PSP; FCA lists “Elegro / Niko Technologies – www.elegro.eu” as an unauthorised firm FCA | Estonia / cross-border into UK (per FCA warning) | (Operated/marketed by Niko Technologies group; no separate directors publicly listed in FCA warning) FCA+1 |
| Cover merchant / front | Realmtix | realmtix.com; | Active Web Limited, company no. 15057358, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX; SIC 47910 (online retail) | United Kingdom | Directors/PSCs include Dawid Patryk Gulbicki (current PSC), |
| Group / individual | Yurii Lamdan | Public profiles and registry entries tied to Niko Technologies; speaker at Global Blockchain Congress | 100% shareholder and beneficial owner of Niko Technologies OÜ; management board member since 2018; MLRO and board signatory on AML policy | Ukrainian national; resident in Ukraine; controls multiple Estonian entities (Niko Technologies OÜ, TwinRivers OÜ) | — |
| Merchant aggregation / Niko group entity | TwinRivers OÜ | No consumer-facing domain identified; appears in Estonian registry at same Tallinn address | TwinRivers OÜ, Estonian company 16186277; 100% owned and managed by Yurii Lamdan | Estonia | Yurii Lamdan – board member and sole shareholder |
| Regulation | FINTRAC (Canada) | Cited in Niko’s AML policy and website as its MSB supervisor | Canadian federal FIU and AML supervisor for MSBs | Canada | — |
Call for information – Whistle42
We explicitly invite players, former staff, PSP partners and bank insiders with knowledge of Niko Technologies, Elegro, Realmtix/Active Web, Goldenbet or similar schemes to contact us confidentially via our whistleblower platform Whistle42. Transaction logs, merchant onboarding documents, internal emails or compliance reports are particularly valuable.
