1win

Company History

1win was founded in 2016 under the original name FirstBet, as noted by GhanaSoccerNet. The company registered in Willemstad, Curaçao, and initially focused on sports betting before expanding into online casino games. Over the years, it has rebranded and grown into a multi-vertical iGaming operator with a global reach. Its rapid expansion has been fueled by heavy investment in marketing and sponsorships, though the company has also faced legal and security challenges.

Business Model

1win generates revenue through player losses (the house edge) on sports bets and casino games. The sportsbook offers pre-match and live betting with accumulators and system bets, while the casino features thousands of slots and table games from over 100 providers. The company also profits from its cryptocurrency payment system, which processes deposits and withdrawals in under 90 seconds, and from its native $1WIN token, which includes buyback and burn mechanisms. The affiliate program, 1win Partners, uses revenue share and CPA models to drive customer acquisition.

Products and Platforms

The core products include a comprehensive sportsbook covering 35 sports, an online casino with more than 11,000 titles, and dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS. 1win also offers a cryptocurrency payment gateway supporting BTC, ETH, USDT, and others. The $1WIN token, built on a dual-chain infrastructure, powers casino games, betting, lotteries, and a Telegram Mini App. Additional brands include BetWave and 1win Markets, which appear to offer prediction and analysis tools. The company’s charitable arm, 1win Charity, funds projects such as electrification in Dharavi, health camps in Nigeria, and wildfire relief in Chile.

Market Position and Partnerships

1win claims over 30 million users across 34 geographic regions, making it a prominent operator in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The company has built brand recognition through high-profile athlete endorsements, including boxer Canelo Álvarez, cricketer David Warner, MMA fighter Jon Jones, adult performer Johnny Sins, and Uruguay football legend Luis Suárez. These partnerships are part of a strategy to penetrate markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The affiliate network, 1win Partners, runs tournaments with prize pools up to $100,000 and has been a silver sponsor of the AffPapa iGaming Awards 2026.

Regulatory and Security Issues

1win operates under a Curaçao gaming license but has faced regulatory investigations in multiple countries. In Kazakhstan, authorities opened a criminal investigation in 2023, alleging the platform accepted payments without user authentication and allowed minors to gamble; four suspects were placed on an international wanted list in 2024, and criminal income was estimated at ₸3.8 billion (approximately $8 million). In Ukraine, 1win operated without a license, drawing regulatory scrutiny. In November 2024, a data breach exposed roughly 96–100 million user records, including emails, phone numbers, IP addresses, and SHA-256-hashed passwords. The dataset was added to Have I Been Pwned? after extortion negotiations escalated to a $15 million demand.

Web3 and Crypto

1win has embraced blockchain technology with the planned launch of the $1WIN native token, built on a dual-chain infrastructure and integrated with a Telegram Mini App. The token includes a weekly buyback program using 10% of revenue from $1WIN gameplay and a daily token burn mechanism of 10% of tokens spent. Crypto deposits and withdrawals are processed in under 90 seconds, supporting major cryptocurrencies. This Web3 expansion aims to attract crypto-native users and differentiate the platform from traditional iGaming operators.

Affiliate and Charity

1win Partners is the company’s affiliate program, offering revenue share and CPA models, with promotional tournaments and leaderboards. In 2026, it ran a World Cup-themed tournament with a $100,000 prize pool. The company also operates 1win Charity, which funds community projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Notable initiatives include electrification of 1,000 households in Dharavi, India, free health-screening camps in Nigeria, holiday support for cancer patients in Ghana, and wildfire relief in Chile. These efforts help offset negative publicity from regulatory and security incidents.