“Crypto exchange” Walcoin, which for almost two years conducted gambling-like activity in Naberezhnye Chelny under the guise of cloud-mining salons, has closed due to a lack of customers. Local media report this.
Crypto Walcoin establishments began appearing in the city in early October 2018. In the salons, they allegedly offered to mine Walcoin cryptocurrency on the company’s hardware.
A computer showed the result of the distribution of shares from participation in mining as a visualisation — the drums of slot machines. In essence, Crypto Walcoin offered services in the gambling segment under the cover of cloud mining.
According to documents the company was registered as a cryptocurrency exchange. Because of this, the criminal case opened against it in November 2018 collapsed.
“A license for such activity is not required and, formally, does not contravene the law,” the city police department said.
But what law enforcement could not achieve, the coronavirus did. According to a source familiar with the gambling sector, the restrictions related to the pandemic became the most successful “operation” against gaming salons.
“In the old days, raids usually ended with nothing – equipment was simply moved from place to place. A premises could be rented, and the machines bought. The only condition without which it is impossible is customers. They disappeared almost instantly,” he explained.
Earlier, in November 2018, residents of Naberezhnye Chelny filed a petition demanding the closure of Crypto Walcoin salons due to government inaction. One family lost over 250,000 rubles on these machines.
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