Former PSG Gambling Sponsor Declared Bankrupt in Curaçao

AK Global NV, the parent company of online betting operator Cbet, has been officially declared bankrupt in Curaçao. According to Next.io, the ruling was issued on January 23 by a first-instance court on the Dutch Caribbean island.

The bankruptcy case was initiated last year by French football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). In December 2022, PSG signed a one-year sponsorship deal with Cbet, a Curaçao-licensed operator. The agreement included financial commitments from Cbet, but the club never received the promised payments. After failed attempts to collect, PSG took legal action.

The court sided with PSG, ruling that AK Global NV failed to meet its contractual obligations.

“From the facts stated in the application and from the hearing in chambers, it has been shown in summary that the defendant has left several debts unpaid and of facts and circumstances that demonstrate that the defendant is in a state of having ceased to pay,” the court stated in its decision.

Sources at Next.io claim PSG made out-of-court efforts to recover the owed funds, including trying to track down AK Global NV’s owner at an industry expo in Brazil. However, no representatives from the gambling company could be reached.

On the same day the bankruptcy ruling was issued, Curaçao’s Chamber of Commerce revoked AK Global NV’s business registration. Cbet may have anticipated the fallout, as it had already secured a gambling license from Anjouan, part of the Comoros Islands.

Previously, Curaçao also declared the parent company of BC.Game bankrupt. Following the ruling, BC.Game abandoned its Curaçao license and continued operations under an Anjouan license.