Belarusian special forces burst into amateur tennis matches in Minsk, detaining players and referees during a live 1xBet tournament broadcast. Online viewers saw armed officers enter the court, order participants to stand against the wall, and abruptly end the match.
Nasha Niva, an independent Belarusian news outlet, published video footage showing heavily armed officers storming the court. The footage also showed officers forcing tennis players and referees against the wall before cutting the broadcast. The video carried a watermark of the Russian-language Telegram channel “Kruzhok Bettinga”, translated as “Betting Circle”.
The broadcast displayed the names of Belarusian tennis players Hanna Serhel and Maria Savitskaya. Authorities reported that the matches took place at the Avante Club and Top Spin in Minsk.
The Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs states that all 19 individuals detained are employees of the bookmaker 1xBet. They are held on suspicion of participating in a large-scale fraud scheme.
Since 2021, suspects have allegedly organized fixed basketball and tennis tournaments both inside and outside Belarus. They streamed the matches on the bookmaker’s website to deceive bettors and steal their money.
Searches at at sports facilities, offices in Minsk and the Minsk region uncovered office equipment, financial documents, cash, and cryptocurrency assets worth around USD 500,000. With the alleged organizers currently wanted in Russia, authorities identified about 200 participants in the illegal tournaments.
Authorities have opened a criminal case for large-scale fraud carried out by an organized group. If convicted, those detained face up to 12 years in prison.
